THE NEWS

Family estrangement has become increasingly common in the U.S. — but experts stress that reconciliation may still be possible after relatives have cut ties.A 2025 YouGov poll found that 38% of U.S. adults were estranged from at least one close family member, including 16% who were estranged from a parent and 10% from a child. Among parents estranged from their children, 70% said they would consider reconciling.Research also suggests that many parent-child estrangements eventually experience a period of renewed contact. In one nationally representative study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, 81% of adult children who experienced estrangement from their mothers later became unestranged, as did 69% of those estranged from their fathers.5 REASONS MORE AMERICANS ARE CUTTING OFF THEIR OWN PARENTS, ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGISTWhile every relationship is different and there are no guarantees, Texas-based psychology researcher Dr. Richard Blake stated that the majority of estrangements do come to an end – but willingness to change and find common ground is key.In many cases, parent-child estrangements are a cycle — “they’ll re-engage, then they’ll fall out again,” Blake said. “One of the key things from the research is that adult children will reach out and if they see nothing has changed, they’ll estrange again.”In an interview with Fox News Digital, the psychology researcher shared the following steps that may increase the likelihood of repairing a fractured relationship.Estrangement from an adult child can be seen as a form of “ambiguous loss” — a situation in which someone is gone but there is still hope they could return, according to Blake.He compared the situation to having a child missing in action: “You don’t know if he’s dead or alive and you kind of have to grieve, but you don’t really know if you should be grieving, because there’s hope.”SECOND LADY USHA VANCE GETS CANDID ABOUT NEW BABY, JUGGLING FOUR CHILDREN AND MOTHERHOODResearch supports the significant emotional toll of estrangement. In a 2025 study of older parents, being cut off from an adult child was associated with poorer well-being and a reduced sense of purpose, as well as greater depressive symptoms.Before attempting a reconciliation with an estranged parent or adult child, Blake said the first priority should be stabilizing oneself.”What I tend to recommend first is to get that person stable, have healthy habits and build a community,” he advised. “Good mental health practices are really important.”When communication with an estranged family member is possible, Blake recommends repeating back what the other person has said and acknowledging how they experienced the conflict before offering a different perspective.”Listen to the other person and then actually repeat back what they said as you understood it, and validate that – like, ‘Oh, I can see why you felt like that. I see why you interpreted it in that way,’” Blake said.It’s important to resist the impulse to immediately correct, contradict or defend, and to acknowledge the other person’s experience without necessarily agreeing with every aspect of their account, according to the expert.After listening, parents should be open-minded about making some changes as needed, Blake said.”I really tell our parents … if you’re 100% perfect, great … but most parents have done something wrong, something that they want to change. And if they want a relationship with their child, they are going to have to change some things.”Certain labels used during family disputes can make compromise more difficult, Blake noted, an issue he refers to as “moralized language.””I talk about these therapy words that get thrown at parents … abuse, toxic boundaries, narcissists, gaslighting, all those things,” he said. “In the research, when you use moralized language like that, compromise becomes far more difficult.”To parents on the receiving end of this type of terminology, Blake’s first recommendation is not to immediately react.”I tell adult parents to pause before they really react, because it’s understandably going to make them very angry.”Taking time before responding can help keep the conversation from escalating and allow both sides to focus on the underlying conflict rather than reacting in the moment.After pausing, Blake recommends asking the other person to explain specifically what they mean, going beyond broad labels to the behaviors underlying the complaint.”Okay, you’ve used the word toxic – can you describe the behavior or behaviors that you consider to be toxic?” he asked as an example.CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIESBlake distinguished between describing a person’s behavior and its impact on you, and assigning that person a sweeping label.”If someone says, ‘When you criticize my weight, I left dinner feeling really, really upset,’ that’s a fact. That’s the person’s interpretation,” he said.”But if you say, ‘You’re toxic because you always criticize me,’ it’s very difficult to come back from that. So it sort of inflames the situation.”That approach shifts the conversation away from judgments about character and toward concrete actions and events that can actually be discussed.When continued communication is appropriate, Blake suggested using language that focuses on a person’s own experience of a conflict rather than beginning with an accusation.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER”First, I would start by using ‘I’ statements, rather than ‘you,’” he advised. “It’d be like, ‘When you said this, I felt like this. When this happened, I did this.’”This allows the person to discuss their own reaction to a specific interaction rather than beginning with an accusation.Blake also recommends avoiding absolutes, such as “you always…” or “you never…” when trying to resolve a conflict.In cases involving abuse, threats or other safety concerns, however, reconciliation or continued communication may not always be appropriate, he noted.Although Blake maintains there is always hope for a reconciliation, he acknowledged that there is no single guaranteed formula for restoring a fractured relationship.While there are many people who are “selling” reconciliation services, Blake cautioned, “I don’t think anyone can promise, ‘I can get your kids back.’”TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZThe goal is to create better conditions for reconciliation, not to promise that specific actions can achieve it, he noted.Ultimately, Blake’s advice is for the person to focus on things within their control, such as embracing healthy habits, aiming for stability and building a community.

China’s Unitree Robotics IPO 5,526 Times Oversubscribed By Retail Investors

Unitree Robotics’ initial public offering was heavily oversubscribed (5,526 times) by retail investors as China’s first publicly traded humanoid robotics company prepares to enter the public markets. The IPO will help usher in physical AI to the equity market.

The Hangzhou-based humanoid robot maker raised about 6.1 billion yuan, or $904 million, after selling 40.4 million shares at 150.8 yuan each, according to Bloomberg.

The offering values Unitree at roughly 61 billion yuan, or $9 billion, ahead of its expected STAR Market debut this month. The IPO will make the firm China’s first publicly traded humanoid robot manufacturer.

Top investors soaked up about 20% of the offering, including AI startup DeepSeek, a Tencent-affiliated investment vehicle, and investment arms linked to CNPC, China Southern Power Grid, and China Telecom. DeepSeek was allocated a 2.31% stake.

China Dominates The Humanoid Robot Race. Can Trump Close The Gap?

It should surprise no one that new data from Smart Analytics Global, cited by Bloomberg, shows that Chinese humanoid robot makers accounted for a staggering 97% of global shipments in the first half of 2026.

The figures come as the Trump administration increasingly recognizes that humanoids will be critical to the emerging physical AI era, creating an urgent need to build out America’s robot supply chain, including motors, actuators, sensors, batteries, and AI models.

via Barclays.

Smart Analytics Global said global humanoid shipments tripled to 19,100 units in the first half from 5,100 a year earlier. The research firm expects deliveries to reach roughly 60,000 this year and climb to 500,000 by 2030.

The estimates are similar to those from major institutional research desks, including UBS, whose most bullish forecast projects nearly 400,000 global deliveries by the end of the decade.

via UBS. 

Our latest notes dissecting the humanoid robot value chain and examining how to profit from the key companies that manufacture critical components, such as motors and actuators, find that many of these companies are based in Asia, more specifically in China.

Physical AI Faces One Critical Chokepoint, And Here’s How To Profit
Digging Deeper Inside Physical AI’s Hardware Stack Powering Humanoids
China’s dominance on humanoids reflects years of policy support and government funding aimed at accelerating robotics, drones, electric vehicles, and much more. The country’s progress was on display at the World AI Conference in Shanghai last month, where dozens of companies demonstrated rapid advances in dexterity, speed, and autonomous capabilities. 

The US recently banned imports of new Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots, as well as certain components, citing national security concerns and cybersecurity risks to AI infrastructure. 

The Trump administration has yet to release a standalone executive order specifically aimed at supercharging the domestic humanoid robotics industry, but we expect that could be coming.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/11/2026 – 06:55

It escaped vast attention last week when Aaron Rodgers suggested during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that NFL people got past league COVID-19 protocols by obtaining “fake” vaccination cards. And now, former quarterback Cam Newton is joining that chorus.Newton, appearing on his “4th & 1″ podcast on Monday, addressed the 2021 NFL protocols that required all team employees – players, coaches, staff, everyone – to get Covid-19 shots so as to avoid stringent frequent testing in order to enter team facilities.All coaches were forced to take the shots or not work. Players who did not have their shots indeed had to submit to daily testing and had to wear a mask within the team facility and practice distancing guidelines during meals, meetings and workouts.AARON RODGERS EVISCERATES ANTHONY FAUCI AFTER PLEADING THE FIFTH AT SENATE HEARING: ‘ABSOLUTE CRIMINAL'”If we’re being honest,” Newton said on his podcast, “Going back to 2020, there were multiple players, coaches, and executives that fraudulently got their COVID shot. Yes, I said it.”That allegation supports what Rodgers said last week in the middle of what was mostly a viral criticism of Anthony Fauci’s testimony in front of the United States Senate.Fauci, one of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in 2020 under President Donald Trump, was a strong proponent of the vaccines when they were rolled out during President Joe Biden’s administration. He testified before the Senate and invoked the Fifth Amendment so as to not incriminate himself under questioning from Senators.ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!Rodgers took Fauci to task for pleading the Fifth a total of 111 times but added this:”A lot of people had probably fake vax cards back in the day,” he said during the latter portion of his McAfee interview. “I remember seeing some of the vax cards. It was like written in crayon.”I’m like, alright, so we’re going to pass that off [as legitimate], but we [unvaccinated] are going to be second-rate citizens over here. I got to wear a yellow armband, train in the back, can’t be around more than three people.”Rodgers called it a “crazy time” and it indeed was because wearing masks into restaurants but taking them off during the meal wasn’t science derived from the virus being unable to affect people sitting down as opposed to standing up.It was all performative.”What a crock of (expletive),” Rodgers said, describing the madness.Newton apparently agrees because he says people simply got around the NFL’s protocols by buying their freedom.”You’re like, Cam, what do you know? It’s like, man, I knew multiple people in that locker room didn’t get the Covid shot,” Newton said. “But they got a card that they paid for.”Boy, nurses was making big bank. But that card and that little [stamp] …. Man, folks was trying to get in that club. ‘Hey, man, you got your vaccination card? Yeah, yeah, I got it…’ “SWITZERLAND FIRES HOCKEY COACH WHO ADMITTED TO FAKING VACCINATION STATUS FOR 2022 BEIJING OLYMPICSIt should be noted that while Newton recalled Cardgate as starting in 2020, it actually began in 2021. And he had his issues with the vaccine during that time.He was unvaccinated and when he traveled away from the New England Patriots for a medical appointment, he had trouble with the protocols.The Patriots, for which Newton was the presumptive starting quarterback, said in a statement that Newton went to the appointment and was away for three days, testing negative each day for COVID-19.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMBut due to a “misunderstanding about tests conducted away from NFL facilities” Newton became subjected to a five-day, re-entry cadence before he could return to the team facility.Newton, who had become an inconsistent passer, lost practice time, then lost his starting job to rookie Mac Jones, and eventually lost his job on the team when he was released.He later said he felt “bamboozled” by the entire issue.But if Rodgers and Newton are right about fake vaccination cards being a thing around the NFL at the time, there was apparently much bamboozling being done by a number of people.FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO

Ukraine accused Russia of using North Korean missiles against Dnipropetrovsk province that killed at least 6 people as part of wider airborne assault.

During the long night to send the Senate home, deals were brokered, major legislation was punted and promises were extended.The SAVE America Act never made it off the shelf, despite promises up and down from its biggest proponents to thwart any attempt to leave Washington, D.C., without trying to pass it. And the vehicle to blast through Democratic objections and pass parts of the bill never left the garage, either.But it all nearly fell apart before lawmakers ever got a chance to hit the Senate floor for an early morning round of votes. Here’s what happened in the dead of night, and how Republicans are readying for a busy stretch when the Senate returns in September.The sun was about to rise in Washington, D.C., as the Senate tidied up last-minute work, but no lawmaker ever made an objection to adjourning for the rest of August.Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, empowered by President Donald Trump, vowed that he would object and force a floor vote to keep lawmakers in Washington to find a way to pass the SAVE America Act.THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHAT THE SENATE DID AND DIDN’T DO OVERNIGHTHe even stood in the way, along with several other Republicans for differing reasons, of the deal concocted by Republican leaders to get major items, like averting a shutdown, agreed to and sent to Democrats for their approval in a bid to get a guaranteed floor vote.But the promised objection never came. A roll call vote didn’t happen. And Lee and others settled for a voice vote, responding “no” to the Senate adjourning for recess. They weren’t successful.Another issue that played out during the night was over the budget blueprint designed to sketch out how to pass pieces and parts of the SAVE America Act without fear of Democrats blocking the process.It was destined for failure, and Trump pushed Republicans to pull the plug.Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is now at the helm of the Senate Budget Committee, plans to go back to the drawing board with his budget resolution and beef it up to include more funding for the Pentagon.”We’re, obviously, with the president at his direction. This is what he wants to do,” Johnson said.TRUMP PUMPS BRAKES ON SENATE BUDGET PLAN, DELAYING GOP SAVE AMERICA PUSHBut the slowdown serves as another blow to the SAVE America Act and vastly lowers the possibility that Republicans can get another budget resolution and forthcoming reconciliation package, passed before the lame-duck period after the midterm elections.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that “we’re going to need to do another reconciliation bill,” but wouldn’t say just how soon the Senate could make it happen.”We’ll see,” Thune said. “I mean, I think that Ron’s gonna work on it over the break, and his team, and we’ll see what they come up with.”A major reason that the night dragged on as long as it did was because of a massive college sports bill to redraw the boundaries of the big money tied to name, image and likeness (NIL).The package, pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, faced pushback from several Republicans over bringing it to the Senate floor. It prompted Trump to call on the Senate GOP to move the bill in a Truth Social post, but it wasn’t enough to kill the resistance.TRUMP URGES CONGRESS TO PASS PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT BEFORE RECESS: ‘WE HAVE TO GET THAT DONE’A source familiar with negotiations told Fox News Digital that things had become bleak as the night went on.”We are pretty much at a standstill and could be here through Monday or Tuesday,” they said.Ultimately, the bill was stripped from the larger floor deal and delayed until September after Cruz and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., huddled with Thune in his office.”We will get the bill to President Trump’s desk and deliver results for hundreds of thousands of student-athletes and bring stability to college athletics,” Cruz said in a statement.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation almost didn’t happen, not because of Republican defectors, but because of tired lawmakers.When it finally came time to do back-to-back votes to officially lock him in as former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s replacement, it was just past 3 a.m. And senators were ready to go — Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., had his suitcase ready just outside of the Senate floor.But two key votes, Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., had missed the preceding votes. The late night had gotten to them, and Republicans needed them to confirm Blanche.They were eventually roused and voted to confirm him, handing Trump one of the narrowest confirmation wins in history at 50-49.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Building A Cheap AI Setup (That Still Works) But Were Afraid To Ask

Authored by Christopher Penn via ‘Almost Timely News’ substack,

I’ve been putting together a new course for Trust Insights, AI for Writing (and Writers), which will be coming out August 25th, and during the process of creating that course, I realized I’ve never walked through setting up a discount agentic AI system.

For a while now, many of us who work in “corporate” have had access to what feels like unlimited amounts of AI (though that free ride is coming to an end at enterprise shops thanks to absurdly large bills). For the average person who doesn’t have the backing of a corporation, how could we tap into the power of agentic systems without tapping out our wallets?

This tracks back to a question from Leslie in the Analytics for Marketers Slack group:

“have you done a video or post with recommendations for a cheap second computer set up someone can use to build their separate AI machine?“

So this week, let’s get scrappy.

Warnings, Disclaimers, Disclosures

If you work at a company, please check with IT before installing software willy-nilly. As a former IT professional, we thank you.

Second, in this issue I’ll be talking about Chinese-made AI models like Qwen and DeepSeek. There is a HUGE difference between a Chinese model hosted by a company in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and a Chinese-made model hosted by a company outside the PRC.

It is manifestly unsafe to use any AI models hosted in the PRC for any kind of confidential information, period. Totally fine to use those models for things that are completely public, like research requests.

However, it is completely safe to use Chinese-made AI models on your own hardware, or in an infrastructure that’s trustworthy. There are many, many great inference providers that have things like Zero Data Retention (ZDR) hosting which are even safer to use than Big Tech models because the providers warrant that they don’t keep your data at all. (Most Big Tech providers have a “we hold onto your data for 30 days to prevent abuse” clause in their Terms of Service)

There is a lot of fear mongering about open weights models (including the Chinese ones) happening right now because Big Tech providers’ profits are on the line if these models continue to offer parity of capabilities at a fraction of the cost. Don’t believe the hype; open weights models are so safe that companies like HuggingFace have used them to do their own cybersecurity defenses.

Third, where I have commercial relationships, I’ll disclose them. I have an Amazon affiliate link in this week’s article, and obviously I work for my company, Trust Insights. I do not have a financial interest in the other companies mentioned as of the time of writing. (but I’m happy to, call me)

Part 1: The Model

We’ll begin our tour with what model to use. In general, you want models that are a blend of cost efficient with effective performance. One of my favorite sites for this is Artificial Analysis; there’s a nice little grid on their models page that shows cost versus intelligence. What we’re looking for in this grid is models that are at the top left corner – the vertical (y) axis is brains, where higher is better, and the horizontal (x) axis is cost, where to the left is lower.

The current winner here is DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731, which has a crazy low cost and lots of brains, on par with OpenAI’s newest model, GPT-5.6 Luna. On the far right is Claude Opus 5, which has about 15% more brains but 40x the cost. The worst quadrant to be in is the lower right – high cost, low brains.

For the purposes of building the cheapest agentic system, DeepSeek is going to be your daily driver model.

Now, it’s worth pointing out, as I have in my book Almost Timeless: 48 Foundation Principles of Generative AI that a daily driver may not be the smartest model, but in terms of day to day work, a model like DeepSeek v4 Flash is going to get the job done most of the time. Here’s a bit of retrospective, by the way, putting DeepSeek on the same scale as all of OpenAI’s major models over the years to see where it stacks up in terms of brains.

DeepSeek V4 Flash outcompetes all but the most recent releases of OpenAI’s models over the years; it is almost 50% smarter than last summer’s flagship model, GPT-5, and is only 17% less capable than OpenAI’s current flagship model.

Here’s the same chart from the Claude world:

DeepSeek V4 Flash is about on parity with Claude Opus 4.7 – which came out in April 2026, a scant FOUR MONTHS AGO.

Now, times change, tech changes, and what you should be doing is checking in on these kinds of charts over time to see which model is closest to that top left corner. This month, it’s DeepSeek V4 Flash. Next month, it might be completely different. It’s our responsibility to keep up with the charts and use the cheapest, best brains we can get a hold of.

Now that we know what model we’re aiming to use, we have to figure out where to use it.

Part 2: The Host

Just like web hosting companies host websites, model hosting companies – called inference providers – host models. There are so, so many of these out there, and they compete mainly on two things, speed and price. Some providers charge a premium but generate results (tokens per second) at ridiculous speeds, like Cerebras. Others offer a wide variety of models at slower speeds but are cheap (like DeepInfra).

Choosing a provider is straightforward: because you’ve decided the model already, it’s a question of pricing and availability. In Google AI Mode, modify this prompt to suit your needs:

Help me create a list of inference providers that match these criteria. First and most important, they MUST offer this exact model: {model}. This is immutable and non-negotiable; a provider that does not offer this model does not make the list. Second, identify the pricing for this model in three categories: cost per input tokens, cost per output tokens, cost per cached tokens. If a provider does not offer pricing for this model for cached tokens, disqualify them. Third, the provider MUST be a zero data retention (ZDR) inference provider. If ZDR pricing is additional, compute it as part of the token costs. ZDR capability is mandatory; if a provider does not offer ZDR, disqualify them. Fourth, if available, obtain the tokens per second for this model for each provider. Return your results as an ordered list in ascending order by lowest cost per tokens for each provider for our chosen model.

You might want to add specific additional needs like SOC 2 compliance, GDPR compliance, etc. To the prompt based on your needs, so customize it any way you like.

With any model you choose, be sure you capture the full model name; DeepSeek v4 Flash for example has an antecedent that lacks the 0731 suffix. Our exact model that we want is DeepSeek v4 Flash 0731.

When I stick this into Google, DeepInfra, Fireworks AI, and OpenCode Zen show up as good options. Which one you choose will be based on how much you prioritize speed versus cost. If you told me to pick one and only one, I’ve been a customer of DeepInfra for a couple of years now and have no complaints at all, BUT there is also a case to be made for OpenCode Zen. More on that in a minute.

What I like, for Leslie’s specific use case, is that pay as you go providers mean that you’re not paying if you’re not using the AI AND there’s a strong economic incentive for you to use AI as little as possible and be as efficient in its use as possible. One of the problems with token plans (which include things like Claude Pro/Max, etc.) is that if you haven’t hit your weekly/monthly limits, you’re wasting money – and thus you’re more likely to use AI frivolously. With pay as you go, you only pay for what you use.

Part 3: The Hardware

For a second computer setup that’s cheap, we have to think about how computers work. The graphical user interface we’re all used to on Windows or Mac or even desktop Linux, as well as on our phones and tablets, is an INCREDIBLY inefficient waste of compute resources. It takes enormous amounts of memory and processing power to draw and maintain the interface compared to pure text-based interfaces.

Now, the crusty old GenX computer nerd in me says that everyone should know how to use a text-based interface (often called a command line or command prompt or terminal), but that’s not realistic. However, there is one user that LOVES text-based interfaces.

Yup, you guessed it. That’s AI. AI is far, far more efficient at typing than it is using a mouse, so for our second computer as Leslie asked about, we’re going to aim for a super cheap box that can run a terminal, store things, and run an AI harness. At a price point of roughly USD 500, you won’t be running AI models directly on this hardware (hence why we searched for hosting providers in Part 2), but you’ll have a decent machine with good storage.

On the shopping venue of your choice, look for what are called gaming mini-PCs. These typically will have AMD Ryzen chips, a small hard drive (typically 256 GB or 512 GB SSD), and between 16 GB and 32 GB of RAM. The cardinal rule of computing is that you want as much RAM/memory as money can buy; a slightly slower processor with more RAM is better than a fast processor with not enough RAM. RAM is like highway lanes; a Bugatti stuck in traffic on a single lane dirt road will not go as fast as a Prius on an 8 lane highway with no traffic jam.

Google AI Mode is handy here as well. Modify this prompt to suit your needs, especially if there are some companies you would prefer not to do business with:

Help me create a list of vendors that offer gaming mini PCs for sale that ship to my location: {locale}. My criteria are that the machine cost less than {amount} inclusive of shipping and that it have a minimum of 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB of disk space, ideally with an SSD. 32 GB of RAM is preferred, and more disk space is always preferred. The system MUST be able to run Ubuntu Linux 26.06 in headless mode. The CPU can be any make or model that offers a base clock speed of 3 GHz; AMD, Intel, or other vendors are fine as long as they are fully supported on Ubuntu. Ethernet and Wifi are mandatory. USB-C, Bluetooth, and HDMI are preferred. eGPU support is preferred. The following vendors and resellers are preferred: {preferred list}. The following vendors and resellers are forbidden: {banned list} The use case for this device will be to run OpenCode and Ubuntu Linux, plus apps like PostgreSQL, Docker, SQLite, Apache2, and similar server-like systems for a single person. Arrange your results in ascending order by price as an ordered list.

I spotted some random Chinese computer on Amazon that was selling for USD 499 with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD (affiliate link!) that has a name that resembles what happens if you stuff Scrabble tiles in your mouth and then spit them out on the table. It’s got a 2023 chip in it, the AMD Ryzen 7730U, which is plenty fast for what we’re doing.

Why these specs? You want the extra RAM and disk space so you can run multiple local applications together on the same box. For example, if you want to run Hermes Agent, chances are you’ll want it in something like a Docker container, and the RAM/disk space will REALLY help with that. Likewise, if you want to roll your own local apps, you’ll probably be running a server that has a database, maybe even a local webserver, and more memory and disk space will really help there.

And technically, though it’s a miserable experience, a mini PC like this CAN do local inference with small models. Using something like llama.cpp, koboldcpp, or Unsloth Studio, you COULD theoretically serve up a small model like Gemma 4 E4B and get a modest little AI server running that can do basic things like summarization.

Once you get your hardware, you’ll want to erase the operating system on it and install a version of Linux. Linux is the best choice for this kind of computer because it can run using very few system resources. I’d suggest Ubuntu Linux in LTS flavor – LTS stands for Long Term Support, and the Ubuntu Foundation warrants that a version of Ubuntu will be supported for 10 years from the launch date. The current version is 26.04 LTS, Resolute Raccoon.

One thing that’s nice about Ubuntu Linux is that you can start it up with a GUI for configuration and all the comforts of modern computing, and then once everything is all square, you can shut down the GUI to free up resources, running it in text-based interface alone.

Part 4: The Harness

AI models by themselves are smart but are prone to things like hallucinations. Model hosts can add some guardrails and some tuning, but the real magic happens when you put a good model in a great harness. Think of the model like the engine of a car. An engine isn’t much good by itself, and a car without an engine is a lawn ornament, doubly so if it’s on cinderblocks.

But a good engine in a great car? That’s where, quite literally, the rubber meets the road. And as with cars, sometimes you can do with a good engine but not a great one if the rest of the car is nice. Unless you’re driving NASCAR or Formula 1, a Prius doesn’t need a V8 engine.

Harnesses are the interfaces to AI. When you use ChatGPT on the web, OpenAI has put a harness around its models, and what you experience as ChatGPT is their tuned harness. The same is true for Gemini, for Claude, etc. – and different harnesses do different things. Claude Code, for example, has hundreds of words of specific language built into its system prompts to behave a certain way, plus a slew of deterministic rules that silently reject bad outputs from the Claude models before you ever see them as a user.

For our purposes, because we’re trying to build a scrappy AI setup, we want a harness that’s free and supports multiple providers. For that, there’s no better harness than OpenCode. OpenCode is Free Open Source Software, and it comes in 2 flavors, a command line version and a GUI version. What’s really nice about it is that the GUI version is built on top of the command line version, so you don’t have to do anything differently and you can configure it in GUI mode, then use it later in command line mode with no changes at all.

OpenCode also supports all the modern skills and plugins that other AI systems use, so if you see a cool skill that someone’s showing off in Claude Code, for example, you can install that same skill in OpenCode.

OpenCode also offers 2 paid coding plans to go with it, OpenCode Zen which is pay as you go, and OpenCode Go, which is a subscription plan. There are some free models in OpenCode Zen but those DO collect your data and are not zero data retention. Remember in the world of AI that if you’re not paying, you and your data are the product being sold to someone else.

If you want the convenience of not having to manage your AI hosting separate from your AI harness, OpenCode Zen is a great choice. If you want the lowest possible costs, then use OpenCode with DeepInfra.

Part 5: Wrapping Up, the Process in a Nutshell

So in a nutshell, here is the order of operations to get up and running – and you can put this list (or this entire newsletter, really) into your favorite chat-based AI tool to walk you through this process.

Choose a model.

Choose a hosting provider.

Choose a hardware box of some kind.

Install Linux on that box.

Install OpenCode on that box.

Connect OpenCode to your hosting provider.

With those six big steps, you’re ready to go! I would suggest also installing and configuring tmux on your new box, because that gives you the ability to remote control it very easily, and if you want to get FANCY, install Tailscale on it as well, to create a VPN of your computers together so you can access your new AI box from anywhere in the world. That’s probably best for another time, though your AI of choice can walk you through that pretty easily.

The key to remember here is that this machine is a self-contained little server. Once you have OpenCode installed on it and connected to your model of choice, one of the first tasks you can do is put it to work securing itself. Using your favorite deep research tools, ask for a best practices guide to securing your little computer and optimizing it for AI usage, especially with the most popular command line tools that will help AI save tokens and usage. Because you’re using a provider like DeepInfra, every request you make costs you a tiny bit of money, and the more you can reduce that, the more you save.

If you deploy this system as written, you’ll spend about USD 500 on the hardware, and probably USD 5 to 10 per month in AI inference costs for moderate usage, which I define as a major coding project per week, something where your AI is working with sustained effort for about 2 hours a day. Models like DeepSeek V4 and similarly capable models are incredibly capable and dirt cheap to use.

It’s worth pointing out that if you have a working computer today, you could skip the hardware purchase and install OpenCode on your computer as is, eliminating the hardware cost. For folks on limited incomes, this is a great way to get access to high end AI without high end subscriptions, like job seekers without stable income.

Enjoy running your own little AI operations center!

Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/11/2026 – 06:30

The speech Adam Vinatieri delivered at the Pro Football Hall of Fame upon his induction was touching, insightful, emotional, and comedy-act funny. It was easily the most memorable speech at that venue in recent years so, of course, it turned off some critics.It caused some people to want him to apologize because, they contend, it was not respectful enough or fitting of a Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony. (If they only knew some of the stuff that happens in NFL locker rooms).ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!Anyway, Vinatieri heard some of the disapproval the last few days.”I wanted it to start sentimental,” Vinatieri said during a guest segment on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday. “I wanted to make people laugh, and then I wanted to end it with a bang at the end.”So hopefully I accomplished that. But if people got offended or thought it was inappropriate, I apologize to you guys.”There is no apology necessary. Because Vinatieri took what is typically a ceremonial assignment and made it entertaining. He turned yawns to guffaws. And tears.Consider:In addressing former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, for whom Vinatieri played six years, the former kicker said ….”Your preparation, discipline, and attention to detail shaped far more than my football career. Unfortunately, Bill couldn’t make it here today. There is a LOT going on at UNC right now. He may be on a recruiting trip looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp had already started.”But in truth it’s because he is judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition!”And with that the speech turned into something of a roast.”I was lucky enough to play with the greatest quarterback in Patriots history,” Vinatieri said, redirecting the bullseye. “Unfortunately he wasn’t able to make it today …. Drew Bledsoe.”Ziiiing!”I had a few more Tom Brady jokes but I was afraid he would run up on stage and ‘Will Smith’ me like he did to Logan Paul,” Vinatieri added.The crowd roared.Vinatieri played his final 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. So they didn’t escape the jocularity, either. He addressed Peyton Manning as the camera cut to the former Colts quarterback.”Thank you for generously donating your forehead for today’s teleprompter,” Vinatieri said, repeating a joke about Manning’s large forehead that was for years whispered in the Colts locker room.”Hey, Pat McAfee is here today, great to see you brother!” Vinatieri continued as we watched McAfee acknowledge his time as the Indy punter and holder on extra points and field goals.”The only person who enjoyed holding my balls more than my wife!” Vinatieri exclaimed before a pause.”She held for me in the offseason when everyone else was gone,” the kicker then added.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMThe speech resembled a two-drink minimum Las Vegas act for a while, but it also had its stirring moments – like when Vinatieri addressed the game of football as if it was an old friend.”I loved you with everything I had,” Vinatieri told the game. “There was a time when I thought I wanted you more than air. But I was wrong. You were the air. You gave me purpose. You gave me direction. You gave me a life I could have never imagined.”The beautiful thing about our relationship was that the more I gave to you, the more you gave back to me. The more I devoted myself to you, the more you rewarded me. The more I committed to you, the more you committed to me.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS”I tried to honor you every single day because I knew you deserved nothing less than my very best. I gave you 38 years of my life, and in return, you gave me a lifetime of memories. I gave you points, you gave me friendships. I gave you countless hours of work, you gave me the opportunity to travel the world, experience different cultures, and meet extraordinary people.”Every sacrifice became an investment, and somehow, football, you always gave me back more than I put in. Looking back, I realize I was never just playing football. We were building a life together.”This speech doesn’t need an apology to a thinned-skinned crowd of critics. It needs a replay in front of every future Hall of Fame speech writer, as a lesson on how it should be done.FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington threw herself into the flames of controversy on Saturday when her flagrant foul left the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham bloodied, leading to an ejection and a subsequent social media post that read “WHITE PRIVILEGE.”Cunningham said after the game she believed the foul was “intentional,” suggesting that the foul could have been a receipt from when she clobbered Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon during a regular-season game early last year. Carrington played for the Dallas Wings in 2025.ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!On Monday night, Carrington seemingly dismissed the notion that the foul was intentional. The Sky lost to the Seattle Storm 97-88.”It was unfortunate that I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional,” she told reporters after the game, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “And, look, it might happen again. That’s just how I play. I’m gonna always go all out. I’m not gonna just let an open layup happen. But like I said, I’m never intending to hurt anybody, regardless of the outside noise or whatever the situation may be.”Carrington said she wanted “consistency across the board” when asked whether Cunningham should have been ejected for the shove she gave her after the foul.”Whether it’s the foul that I commit, whether it’s the reaction or retaliation, I would just love for it to be consistent across the board, regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, whatever.‘‘I don’t think we’re there yet. That’s something that I’ve talked to the league about, as well. I think that will eliminate a lot of frustrations we all have.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMCarrington attempted to explain away the “White privilege” post she made after the Fever game, responding to criticism from sports media personality Emmanuel Acho.Though she said there was evidence to back up her post, she failed to provide any.”I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption). Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych,” she wrote in a post on X.”Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on “white privilege”, do ya research on that one. I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject. I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”She said she raised concerns to the league.The WNBA has not responded to multiple requests for comment about the post.

The first three-plus years of the AI buildout has been funded by record amounts of equity and debt issued by leading tech companies. Nvidia has a new idea.

Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or has long cared about championing Israeli women and Jews, but her new role playing an Israel Defense Forces unit captain during the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks has her taking her advocacy to the next level.Since the Tel Aviv-born star of Netflix’s Israeli television series “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” hit Hollywood’s radar in 2021, she’s been on a mission — and it doesn’t involve chasing award nominations or lucrative brand endorsements like many rising young actresses in Tinseltown.Instead, Or told Fox News Digital, her mission focuses on authentic storytelling and meaningful narratives that accurately represent her people.”I think that, of course, the Oscars matter and Hollywood, I mean, like, it’s like the Olympics for films and TV, right? But I’ve seen what it does to the industry to be driven by getting an award or getting accepted to an elite circle of intellectuals and art people,” she said. “I just feel as a storyteller that it hurts — that’s not what we’re telling stories for.”IDF CLAIMS TO HAVE TAKEN OUT HAMAS COMMANDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7The 27-year-old actress recently went viral for echoing that sentiment on Instagram for ARISE for Israel, an alliance whose mission is to “reinforce Israel’s security and economy,” while promoting her new film, “Tankistas.” The plural form of “tankista,” the title means “tank crew members” or “tankers” in several languages.”I don’t care about the Oscars. I don’t care about Hollywood. I don’t care about doing the biggest, greatest career… I care about honest representation of who we are,” Or said about her upcoming film, which wrapped production earlier this year and is being edited in both English and Hebrew versions and is set for release next year.The war drama, directed by Ayelet Menahemi (“Seven Blessings”) and inspired by true events, follows the IDF’s first all-female tank unit and its 17-hour defense during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. As the unit’s captain, Or’s character leads three armored vehicles and engages Hamas militants in battle.Or served in the IDF in real life before moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting and modeling career. She, along with fellow cast members, spent a good deal of time with the real-life women of the combat unit on which the film is based.She also spoke about why the movie stands out among other combat films and female-focused superhero movies.”The world is obsessed right now with female heroes, but so often, I feel like it’s from the wrong reasons, because it sells or whatever,” she said. “This film is very unique because if it was an American film about an all-female team company in World War II or whatever, it checks all the boxes of everything the world wants to see. But this is a feminist film written by women, based on a true story that actually happened, but it’s Israeli.”CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM”It’s not a typical war film, thank God, because unlike so many films that try to bring a female hero to the front, the characters here are based on real women,” she continued. “They are diverse and human and complex, and it captures what the world so often fails to understand about Israeli women, especially about Israeli women in combat.”Or has made a habit of sharing her convictions while appearing prominently on podcasts and in viral clips of media commentary, where she’s addressed antisemitism and the importance of authentic representation for Jewish and Israeli women in entertainment.She’s appeared on the “Stars of David with Elon Gold” podcast and “Reel Talk,” and joined Tablet Magazine’s “Unorthodox Podcast” to discuss relocating to the U.S. shortly before Oct. 7 and what it’s like to be an Israeli artist abroad.ARISE for Israel called her “one of the most powerful voices for Israelis and Jews in Hollywood.”Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of the international, nonpartisan Israel education organization StandWithUs, called her an “important voice for a new generation at a time when too many Jews feel pressure to hide their identity, soften their connection to Israel, or remain silent in the face of antisemitism.””Swell is standing tall and using her platform to tell the diverse stories of the Jewish people while encouraging others to do so,” she added.FREED HOSTAGE ROM BRASLAVSKI DETAILS ABUSE, STARVATION DURING 738 DAYS IN GAZA CAPTIVITY”I feel like this community — it’s so misunderstood,” Or told Fox Digital about portraying Israeli women in a combat role. “You don’t have a lot of stories who portray so many layers at the same time of a woman who’s a commander in combat — the values, who they are, their humanity, the profound gap between how the world sees them and what their motives are and what they carry with them.”Besides “Tankistas,” the actress can be seen in a new season of her Netflix show, which she said focuses heavily on the year 1948 and the Israeli War of Independence.”This is a year that is very much relevant for people to learn more about,” Or said.She also recently finished shooting her first short film, “The Divide,” which she said is being developed into a feature.Despite her representation of her homeland, Or said she’s no stranger to facing backlash or listening to those who raise concerns about the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”Last week, I walked in LA and a person approached me, and she’s like, ‘I watched ‘Beauty Queen.’ I have to tell you, I define myself as Palestinian, but I watched the whole thing because I wanted to see Jerusalem of that day because my family came from there too’,” Or recalled.Regarding Oct. 7, Or said she knew six people who were murdered at the Nova music festival that day.”You can have debates from here ‘til Russia and back about what happened on October 7. But the festival, it’s like something that you can’t debate about,” she said.”Growing up in Israel, you are born at a crossroads of so many identities and histories of your own people, so you got to love storytelling because your family’s going to tell you all of them, and for me, it’s my passion, and it’s like my purpose in life,” Or continued.”It’s been my goal even before October 7, but especially after, when I saw that it’s not just a passion of mine, but a necessity,” she added. “That’s the difference. Now it’s a necessity.”