Tech News

Go ahead. Have a second piece of (belated) birthday cake. IRC Turns 30. Ars Technia:

For Ars staffers, IRC led to love, marriage, and trolling.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) turned 30 this August.

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C|Net - Inside the You Tube House:

Living in a mansion playing video games with your best friends all day. But inside, it’s a slightly different story.

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Tech Crunch - Tesla Tequila coming soon?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Friday in a tweet that the Tesla-branded tequila called “Teslaquilla”... is “coming soon.”

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Win 10, more flaws, how to fix? ZD Net:

Disastrous is the best word to describe Microsoft's release of Windows 10 version 1809. A data deletion bug forced the company to take the unprecedented step of halting the roll-out of its October 2018 feature update.

Shorter answer to fixing Win-anything: Switch to Linux
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Geek - Barn doorstop actually a meteorite:

...a 22-plus pound meteorite—the sixth-largest recorded find in Michigan, and potentially worth $100,000.

But I bet it did a good job as a doorstop, too.
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PC World - Alienware's impressive laptop:

Alienware's m15 is significantly smaller, thinner, and lighter than its 15-inch cousins[.]

Check out the video at the link.
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Trust in Google wanes, search engine DuckDuckGo Soars! BetaNews:

The privacy-focused search engine has enjoyed a 50 percent surge in usage over the last year, and it can now boast a new record of 30 million daily searches.

"Trust in Google wanes..." ... will the person who trusted in Google admit it?
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Ever been sun-burned? Blame Trump Dinosaurs for it.  Extreme Tech: 

...dinosaurs were sauntering around all day, looking for small morsels to eat. This may have caused a “nocturnal bottleneck” as mammals survived for generations by hiding underground during the day and only coming out at night.

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Establishing Biometric Databases.  Technocracy:

Does anyone remember that it used to be considered a conspiracy theory to warn people about biometric databases? Well, now that it is an accepted reality, we should be looking even farther down the slippery slope for new signposts indicating even greater plans to track, trace and database all human beings.

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TechDirt: The continuing battle between the FCC and net neutrality.

The FCC's claims that its rules embrace transparency are equally hollow, given the agency's replacement transparency provisions are entirely voluntary. And the idea that "market forces" can fix the broken and uncompetitive broadband industry should be laughable to anybody that's experienced Comcast customer service.

My Official First, Long, Boring NHL Post for the 2018-2019 Season

It's official. The 2018-2019 NHL Season is here (has been a couple days). But it seems like hockey just ended! It did. On June 8,  when Washington won their first-ever Stanley Cup against Las Vegas. Vegas is an expansion team, last year being their first season. And they somehow navigated their way into the Stanley Cup, losing the series 4 to 1. Prior to their loss, LV was slicing and dicing their way on the ice, carving their opponents on an almost un-stoppable path to The Cup.

Since it's been 124 days  since June 8, the NHL has to be the only major league sport with that short of an off-season. Can anyone think of a sport with less time off from the game?

Let it be recorded in history that this is my first, official, long, boring, NHL 2018-2019 post. If you like teh hockey, chime in, leave a comment. If you're not into hockey, might I suggest reading from any of the entries on my blogroll to the right.

The season is early. I don't write much about it until the second-half of the season. But let's see where the teams are starting.

Besides, you've been looking forward to my long, boring, NHL post, right? Kind of like you wait for the Long Boring Christmas Family Update Letter From (Insert name of relative here).

A lot has changed and some team-shuffling occurred between the close-out of pre-season  below, and with the opening of the new season.

2018-2019 NHL Pre-season Standings, September 30, 2018

Yes, things have shifted from the above graph to the one below. 

Detroit was dominating their division in pre-season, a little more than a week ago. Now, they've dropped. The shuffling out of the rest of the teams in the Atlantic Division appears as one expect. Ottawa came on strong last season, making it to the playoffs. Boston is Boston and season after season always is a tough opponent. Toronto has high expectations for itself this year.

Central's Chicago went from pre-season ranking of bottom-dweller to top dawg. Tied in W/L with Chicago (but Chi tops with points) are Dallas, Colo and Nashville. All contenders. Will St. Louis struggle with a slow start? Minnesota...I'll get to them.

The Met and Pacific division teams all have settled out where they are in W/L, in a not-unusual NHL new season start. Carolina and the Islanders are doing something right. A bit surprising, the Rangers are winless.

In the Pacific: Vegas will be on everyone's watch-list, this being year two. Arizona needs a good year, but will they have one? No idea here. You?

Edmonton dominated pre-season and has tanked. The Ducks and the Kings have their stuff together, so far. Calgary? San Jose, who played so well when they played well in last season's playoffs, will be tough. Vancouver another team needing a good year.

Returning to the MN Wild. They played Vegas on October 6. The Wild scored a goal in the opening minutes and held a one-zero lead over LV. LV scored with slightly more than 90 seconds remaining in the game. It went into one OT, both teams scoreless, so, tied 1 - 1.

The Wild lost in a shoot-out.

The shoot-out has to go. It does. It was never a good idea to begin with and never should have been implemented.  Would you decide the winner of two, tied NBA teams by a free-throw contest? Decide a tied football game with a series of field-goal attempts? Decide an MLB tied game by pitcher vs hitter determining a winner by requiring a home-run be hit?

Return Winner/Loser in tied NHL games being decided by a series of unlimited, FIVE-MINUTE overtime periods.  Workout the details...two, five minute overtime periods. If score remains tied, ten minute break both teams, then return to ice for two, five minute overtime periods (or only one - the "third" OT -  if a team scores, obviously). Repeat process until one team scores within the 5 minute OT. These OTs aren't going to go more than 15-20 minutes. It's not that hard, is it?

The Wild...they have work to do. Zach Parise is back, which is great. The Wild should consider hiring an exorcist who can forever banish the demon whereby the Wild fail to take any advantage when on the power play, less, that they give up a goal while on the power play, which they have done...way too often.

Coach? Doesn't matter. Goalie? Doesn't matter. Team Captains? Doesn't matter. Team roster? Doesn't matter. The Wild need to do a 180 on executing their power plays and once they "get it", it must never be un-learned.

My first, long boring NHL Sermon for the 2018-2019 season has ended. May you be Blessed and go in Peace, Eh.
---
Fixed Typo 10/12/2018

"World has [ fill in the blank with a number ] of years to stop catrastrophic climate change." And Weed in Space.

The Mirror: Only eleven years left to stop global climate crisis.

The Irish Times: Climate change far worse than originally thought.
Of course it is. How could anyone have thought differently?

Smart Cities Drive: UN says we have 12 years to tackle climate change.  Where'd that cagey UN find an extra year?

Uh-oh. From June, 2017, The Guardian: World has three years to stop dangerous climate change. So are we down to two, ten or eleven years? 

Sky News: 'Unprecedented action' needed to avert global warming by 2030.

There it is..."Unprecedented." A favorite adjective of the global warming alarmists. Surely, "Epidemic" must be one other story click away.

We've had about twenty-years or more of "ten-year This Is The End" dire warnings. Amazing how quickly global warming retook its focus now that the Kavanaugh saga is over, isn't it?

And because in space, no one can hear you toke;  Weed. In space.  Tech Crunch: 

Space Tango is taking its own steps to develop experiments on how the zero gravity environment could affect cannabis cultivation.

Alongside two Kentucky hemp and cannabis cultivation and retail companies, Atalo Holdings, which provides hemp genetics, and Anavii Market, an online retailer of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapeutics, ["] Space Tango has set up its own subsidiary to research how microgravity can be used to better cultivate particular strands of hemp for medical compounds...the model is looking at low earth orbit to actually develop and design applications for life on earth.["]

World News Links

China very silent over missing Interpol Chief. Singapore Press:

..."China remained silent yesterday over the disappearance of the head of Interpol, deepening the mystery over the international police chief's fate [who] was last seen leaving for China late last month from the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, south-east France[.]"

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Final court appeal for Christian woman on death row; charged with insulting Muhammad. The Independent:

If her appeal fails the mother of five, from the rural village of Ittan Wali, Punjab, will become the first woman to be executed for blasphemy in Pakistan.

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The Weekend Australian: Congo tanker truck fire, at least 50 dead.

"The driver of the tanker truck has disappeared while the driver of the tractor trailer died at the scene," the ministry said.
[.]
Deadly traffic accidents are common in Congo, where roads and other infrastructure in the vast country are often poorly maintained.

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The Weekend Australian: Tina Turner's kidney transplant.

Tina Turner has revealed she underwent a kidney transplant with an organ donated by her husband.

The 78-year-old singer says in an upcoming autobiography she has suffered from kidney disease and by 2016 her kidneys were at "20 per cent and plunging rapidly"

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The Daily Dot - Tesla inventors to Elon Musk: Nix the tweeting:

Perhaps most frightening of all, one Tesla staffer said the company was chaotic.
[.]
While Musk was mostly silent toward those asking him to stop tweeting, he did respond to one Twitter user who said it seemed like Musk was actually working against Tesla’s long-term investors.

“Hang in there,” Musk tweeted. “If you are truly long-term, it will be fine.”

Elon Musk tokin' on The Joe Rogan Show

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Silicon Valley Liberal planning "Internet Bill of Rights." Recode: 

The author of these proposals is Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) [...] a set of new regulations for Silicon Valley that Democratic legislators may start pushing next year if they recapture Congress in November.

Tech has been, and will continue, outpacing law at breakneck speed. Politicians meddling in Tech is never good for Tech (or for law) and this is equal across Dems, Repubs and Others. Libertarians excluded, of course.

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You gotta fight...

For your right...

To Party ...

... ur, You gotta fight, for your right, to be a prostitute. BBC:

Husna Bai, a 24-year-old woman, told Judge Jagdish Sahai that she was a prostitute. Invoking the constitution, she had filed a petition challenging the validity of a new law to ban trafficking in human bodies.

By striking at her means of livelihood, Bai argued, the new law had "frustrated the purpose of the welfare state established by the Constitution in the country".

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Let's all get our favorite junk foods, sit down and read about it:  Can social media help people lose weight?  BBC: 

"I think the negative thing about being able to hide behind that anonymity is that people will say things on Reddit that they would never say to an actual person," [said Christy Brissette, a registered dietician in Chicago].

Whoaaaaa....right there. What's this about people on Reddit hiding behind anonymity? That can't be accurate, can it?

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The Observer -  Conservative Pundits thank Michael Avenatti for Kavanaugh confirmation:

Pundits on the right are crediting attorney Michael Avenatti with Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Will the Libs turn on Avenatti? What if he is secretly working against them? Huh? Huh? Conspiracy Thread time?
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Movie: Metropolis

New Statesman: Nietzsche's descent into madness.

...he was often incapacitated, as he would continue to be throughout his life, by illnesses of various sorts.
[.]
... the onset of his madness is usually dated to 3 January 1889, when, seeing a cabman mercilessly beating his horse, a sobbing Nietzsche threw his arms around the horse’s neck and then collapsed.

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Sidney Morning Herald - "Party-bus" passengers being denied entry into bars:

...[the party bus passengers], "Usually they are pre-loaded, they have obviously been drinking at home and on the bus on the way in.  (Well, yeah - that IS the idea, isn't it? - DD).  We want an environment where locals and visitors can all enjoy a venue," [said Richard Adamson, Coordinator of the Newtown Liquor Accord].
[.]
 "So if you're coming on a party bus, you're probably going to be turned away," [he said].

Goblin Roaming our Solar System

From RT: Goblin Roaming our Solar System -

A new planet dubbed the Goblin has been hiding in the mysterious Oort Cloud in the far reaches of our Solar System. And it could prove that a Super-Earth commonly referred to as 'Planet 9' is really lurking somewhere beyond Pluto.

The confirmed discovery of 2015 TG387, aka ‘The Goblin’ (it was monitored around the Halloween period here on Earth) was thanks to the largest and deepest survey ever conducted on distant solar objects, in the hunt for the ever-elusive 'Planet 9,'[.]
[.]
The Goblin is one of three objects clustered together in a mysterious region of the Universe known as the Oort cloud, an area beyond Pluto that was once thought largely barren and bereft of celestial activity.

Stephanie Clifford Stormy Daniels

Eight-plus NHL games on tap to watch...oh, Kavanaugh confirmed for Supreme Court

Brett Kavanaugh confirmed by Senate in 50-48 vote. BBC:

The Senate backed Brett Kavanaugh's nomination by 50 votes to 48.
[.]
The only party dissenters were Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who had intended to vote no, and Democrat Joe Manchin, who voted yes.

That should have meant a 51-49 tally, but the absence of Republican Steve Daines, a yes voter who was at his daughter's wedding, altered the final figures.

Ms Murkowski opted instead to simply mark herself as "present", leaving the final vote 50-48.

 I'm glad this drama is over.

Now...I need to figure out how the heck I'm going to watch around eight NHL games  simultaneously tonight. 

Susan Collins is now a "betrayer of women."

Susan Collins, U.S. Senator - Maine (kinda-pretend-sometimes Republican) has said she will vote to nominate Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Because Senator Collins recognizes there is no substantial, let alone remote circumstantial evidence, that Kavanaugh is guilty of the alleged accusations of Dr. Christine Ford...Collins is now labeled a "betrayer."

Celebrities to Collins, "You are a betrayer of women."

Susan Rice scolds Collins for "Her betrayal of women."

More celebs turn caustic towards Collins. Lifezette:

...director Rob Reiner was just as extreme in his reaction.

He wrote, “Susan Collins turns her back on women who have been traumatized by sexual assault. Elections have consequences. To start turning the ship of state back towards the rule of law, decency, truth, and the preservation of Democracy, Nov. 6 has to be a lot more than a blue wave. VOTE!!!”

Law? Decency? Truth? WTF is wrong with Meat Head, anyway?

Collins is a "betrayer of Maine voters."

Planned Parenthood calls Collins, a "betrayer of people everywhere." Everywhere? Really, now...everywhere?

All this is good news. When I hear Libs whining this loudly and to this extent, I know something is going right.

Let's hope Collins doesn't bow to pressure.

How Does He Know the pig Doesn't Want to be Bacon?

Hey, the Pig personally told me that he wanted to be bacon. It's on his bucket list. The Pig was also appalled that a Berkeley store would obtain a restraining order preventing "occupying and protesting."

Restricted free speech via a restraining order in Berkeley by a Berkeley-located store? You're traveling through another dimension...that's the signpost up ahead - your next stop...the Bizarro World.

A protest in Ralphs Supermarket, in Los Angeles, staged by Direct Action Everywhere in 2017. Photograph: Ruth Iorio

The Guardian: 

For a full week, a big black banner was posted from a sidewalk in Berkeley, California. “OCCUPY WHOLE FOODS”, it declared in large, white block letters.

But the protesters who created it, a group from the animal rights activist organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), were not actually able to do much occupying. Just days before a weeklong protest scheduled for late September, in which the activists had planned to call attention to alleged animal welfare violations by suppliers to Whole Foods’ parent company, Amazon, the Berkeley store filed a restraining order.

“We are not allowed to even step foot in the parking lot right now,” said Cassie King, a DxE organizer. “We can’t go inside the store and ask our questions.”

"We are not allowed to even step foot in the parking lot right now,"..."we can't ask our questions."

Oh. How. Fucking. Sad. Do these horribly mistreated and discriminated protesters have a GoFundMe page yet?

Has anyone notified the International Court of Justice and The Hague of the atrocities committed by Whole Foods against the DxE group?

George...well...he's getting upset.

Thou Shalt Not Clap (No applause, PLEASE!)

Next will be "sighing".

Sputnik News: Manchester U bans clapping:

The student union at Manchester University has banned clapping and replaced it with "jazz hands". The decision has been met with widespread derision on social media.
[.]
Jazz hands — waving both hands — is the British Sign Language (BSL) equivalent of clapping and has been introduced to ensure deaf and autistic people do not people left out.

But the decision has been greeted many on social media as a sign that political correctness has finally gone too far.

I was unaware that political correctness could ever "go too far."

I applaud "Thou Shalt Not Clap." But I do so only in the form of miming.

Did you hear me clap? No? Damn, I got this mime-thing down.

My First, Sorta, Long Boring NHL Pre-Season 2018-2019 Post

This isn't my first 2018-2019 Official Long Boring NHL Post , as it's still the pre-season, but the official season is mere days away. And this isn't going to be that long of a post. The boring, maybe - the long, not really.

Once you catch puck fever, you'll be hooked.

The current pre-season standings are below, as of this morning. A couple late games played last night and two teams played this afternoon and two games play tonight. With the exception today's four games, I believe the stats are up-to-date as of Sunday AM.

Let's look at the standings:

This early, no one can make any accurate predictions on anything. A year ago, if I, or anyone else, had said that a brand new expansion team, Vegas, would be playing for The Cup (against Nashville)...well, expressions of reactions would have been "padded cell time".

It's all up for grabs. Of course, all eyes are on the Vegas Knights, and so far so good at 5W - 1L.

There are high expectations this season for the NY Islanders, off to a good start.

Chicago is on "the watch" list. Despite their 2W-4L record, they played like the 2010, 2013 and 2015 (among prior years) Stanley Cup Winners that fans expect, whipping the Blue Jackets last night, 4-1.

Teams currently not playing their best, who will improve as we get deeper into the season, includes, in the Metro division: Pittsburgh, Philly and last season's Cup winner Washington. I sense a good season from Columbus, too; maybe even downright amazing. Carolina is off to a heck of a good start, the only team without a loss.  

In the Atlantic: Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit and Boston. The Panthers could surprise everyone.

In the Central: The Wild, Winnipeg, Nashville, Chicago and Dallas. Centrals'  games will be brutal this year.

In the Pacific: Vegas, Edmonton and Arizona are who I see dominating for the first half of the season. San Jose, also in the finals last year, has the potential to shine. The Kings and Vancouver have their work cut out for them and they will figure things out.

A few other teams like Columbus, NJ, the Panthers, St. Louis and others, all are capable of getting their game on and carving the ice up with their opponent. These are the teams I call, "We're building and just might shock the hell outta ya on our way to a Cup" season. Time will tell.

The ultimate caveat, as in almost everything, in depending on who's going to beat their opponent in any given game is always the same, "Who's injured?"

Happy Hockey, Eh!.

All hockey comments encouraged!

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian presidential candidate, will accept election results only if he wins. Sounds like Hillary Clinton!

From The Keene Sentinel:

Brazil’s leading presidential candidate, far-right former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, said that he wouldn’t accept an election result that doesn’t grant him victory.
[.]
...Bolsonaro was asked how he thought the military would react if Fernando Haddad, the leftist Workers’ Party candidate, were to be elected president.
[.]
“I can’t speak for the commanders,” he replied. “From what I see on the streets, I won’t accept any result other than my election.”

Other than Bolsonaro described as a "far-right(er)", he has the same winning/loss mental receptor mis-firing as LOSING DEMOCRAT Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

 Left: The LOSER. Right: Jair Bolsonaro

Also similarly, because Bolsonaro is "far-right", "tens of thousands of women" are united in protesting his candidacy. CBS News: 

In downtown Rio de Janeiro, a crowd that was heavily women shouted: "Sexists and fascists won't advance!"

"Sexists and fascists won't advance!" That sounds vaguely familiar. Where have I heard that?

World News Links

India behind terror attacks in Pakistan, says Pakistan. The News PK:

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that India is actively involved in terrorism in Pakistan by funding miscreants.

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Iran blames Saudi Arabia for promoting and sponsoring terrorism.
MEHR News:

Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has rejected the anti-Iran comments made by the Saudi top diplomat, saying terrorism has its roots in the ideology promoted and sponsored by the regime in Saudi Arabia[.]

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Flawed (hackable) app leaks personal info of UK politicians.  The Times of Israel:

Phone numbers and other personal details of senior ministers from Britain’s Conservative party were made public by an app security flaw on Saturday, including those of top Brexiteers Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.
[.]
“They’ve essentially made every journalist, politician and attendee’s mobile number public. Fantastic.”

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Surely, I thought there would be three by now. FBI Contacts second woman regarding Brett Kavanaugh. BBC:

The] FBI had "reached out" to interview his client [ Deborah Ramirez ] and she has] agreed to co-operate with their investigation.

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Trump and Xi; Bromance over? South Morning China Post:

...four rounds of formal trade talks involving senior trade and finance officials. In addition, both sides have been in constant communication through other official and unofficial channels to find ways to end the trade dispute, but those efforts have failed to bear fruit.

As things go, any more talk is meaningless unless it involves Xi and Trump.

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Elon Musk Forced to Resign.  SMH:

Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive, under pressure from his lawyers, company officials and investors, reached a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission [whereby Musk] agrees to step aside as Telsa chairman for three years and pay a US $20 million fine. 

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Breaking News - Porsche Raspy Soundtrack is "glorious":

It’s safe to say Porsche took everyone by surprise earlier this week when all of the sudden, the company that gave the automotive world the 911 introduced a retro-tastic race car.
[.]
The noise coming out of those 908-inspired exposed titanium exhaust tips is as glorious as you’d expect it to be and nicely complements the fantastic body of the race car.

The Porsche 935. Image: Breaking News

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Marty Balin, 76, dies.  TRTWorld: 

[Marty Balin], the guitarist and singer, who co-founded [Jefferson Airplane] 1965, died on Thursday and his wife, Susan Joy Balin, was by his side[.] The cause of death was not announced.

Rest In Peace, Marty.

Nancy Pelosi acknowledges "women behave hysterically."

Politically Correct, Liberal, Modern, Cosmopolitan, Bohemian, Waaaay Cool Hipster Cali Congress-woo-man Nancy Pelosi acknowledges women can behave hysterically. TheHuffPooPo:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that if Christine Blasey Ford had behaved like Brett Kavanaugh did when he testified about her sexual assault allegation against him, she’d be labeled “hysterical.”

Well - there it is. Permission granted in using the term to, at times, describe women as "hysterical." Hysterical! Thanks, Nance. (Caution: Use phrase at your own risk. Not responsible for flying frying pans thrown at my male brethren.)

For all those facial and, uh, other wrinkles and crevices

Wildy Inaccurate, Debunked Disproven Conspiracy Theory that Dr. Christine Ford and Cindy Sheehan are the same person

A debunked conspiracy theory, claiming Dr. Christine Ford  and Cindy Sheehan  are the same people, is causing an uproar in certain scientific and research communities according to a story in the Eritas County Ledger Early Edition:

A widely debunked conspiracy theory is getting a second round of  closer scrutiny after one facial recognition expert questioned the results. Dr. Harold P. Ness, of the Los Alamos, New Mexico, high-tech artificial intelligence company WeCYou Bio-Science said, "the initial findings that Dr. Ford and Ms. Sheehan are not the same people are speculative, at best, at least for now."

"A little tuck here, a bit of cosmetic surgery there, and yes, it is very likely Dr. Christine Ford and Ms. Cindy Sheehan are exactly the same people," said Dr. David Byrne of the world renowned Talking Heads Beverly Hills Center for Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery.

The conspiracy theory compares images of Dr. Ford to Ms. Sheehan suggesting they could be the same person. "She's an actress hired and paid by George Soros," said Mannic von Bierwagen, Executive Director of IG Farben's Optical Analysis and BioGeometry Worldwide Operations.

"Her real name is Rhonda Farnsworth and she is a professional actor touring with the current mid-west regional area, dinner-theater production run of the Broadway hit 'Annie'," said von Bierwagen. "Look, her name and picture are right here," he said, holding up a page in a current issue of 'Playbill'.

Image: © Ness Analytica

Responding to critics, chief researcher and author of the debunked conspiracy theory, Dr. Harold A. Ness , declared, "[Harold P.] Ness and Tolbertson ought to be ashamed of themselves. My research is solid," said Ness, Founder and CEO of Ness Analytica, a technology global consultant. "There is no question or scientific basis for any belief that Dr. Ford and Ms. Sheehan are the same people. Talk of anything different is preposterous," he scoffed.

Dr. Harold P. Ness and Tolbert rebuffed Dr. Harold A. Ness. "We've never seen both Dr. Ford and Ms. Sheehan in the same room together at the same time, and until we do, we stand by our alternative assessment of his study."

Grandstanding Amy Klobuchar's Two-Faced Double Standards

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar again shows her double-standards and partisan hypocrisy.

Klobuchar asks, "What is [Kavanaugh] afraid of?"

Yet, on the issue of her fellow Lib, Keith Ellison's alleged abusive behavior  Amy is not-so-surprisingly evasive and seemingly unconcerned. Alpha News: 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) continues to dance around the allegations of domestic violence against attorney general candidate Keith Ellison, avoiding making any campaign commitments in an interview on Sunday.
[.]
Klobuchar indicated she would be comfortable voting for Ellison[.]
[.]
Klobuchar also dodged questions about campaigning with Ellison, saying she is currently focused on the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
[.]
Democrats have avoided denouncing Ellison over the allegations, despite pressure from the Democratic ally National Organization For Women. Days after the allegations broke, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), in which Ellison is deputy chair, released a statement saying the allegations would be reviewed. However, weeks later, there has been no public update to the investigation.

Amy Klobuchar: Abusive allegations are subjectively partisan.

It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery...

From Bananas.

"Democrats not being heard," says a whining Kamela Harris

From the taxpayer-subsidized NPR:

Headline: Democrats Protest As Republicans Likely Lock Up Kavanaugh Committee Approval
[.]
"This is a sham what's going on in there right now. Democrats are not being heard. They are pushing through this process," said Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., one of the members who walked out [of the Friday Kavanaugh committee meeting].

The "they" she refers to are...I guess she means Republicans.

Pictured: Kamela Harris demonstrating she knows how to raise her right hand.

"Democrats not being heard." Dat. Is. Sooooo Sad. Epically Titanic  in nature, yes?

No, Kamlea - "you're" being heard. Others are no longer listening. You and yours have been Muted. Try and learn the difference between the two.

Tech News

Non-high-tech voting; circa 1994...

ArsTechnia: High-speed voting tabulator vulnerable to hacking.

One vulnerability they discovered—in a high-speed vote-tabulating system used to count votes for entire counties in 23 states—could allow an attacker to remotely hijack the system over a network and alter the vote count, changing results for large blocks of voters. "Hacking just one of these machines could enable an attacker to flip the Electoral College and determine the outcome of a presidential election," the authors of the report warned.

- - -
SEC Sues Elon Musk. From C|Net:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to bar Elon Musk from serving as an executive or director of any publicly traded company.

More on Elon Musk.  From Gizmodo:

[Elon Musk is]  accused of tweeting on LSD, sued for defamation by a cave diver he called “pedo guy,” given a “weepy” interview to the New York Times, and admitted that this whole going private thing just isn’t going to work out.

Among other things, the SEC wants Musk to pay civil penalties and be “prohibited from acting as an officer or director of any issuer that has a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act.”

 I dunno...seems like the SEC is overreacting and over-reaching.
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ZD Net: New AI can identify guns in crowds and alert authorities about an active shooter.

The trick during development was to create a computer vision algorithm that continuously monitors cameras without reporting too many false positives, a weakness of past attempts at AI gun detection technology.

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And "they" say there's no way to meet new people these days. More than you care to know about fecal transplants. Geek:

The process involves collecting feces from a healthy donor, processing it, and delivering it into the colon of the recipient.

What a fun way to meet new people.

Image credit: Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay

So this is the one time in life when, if it comes to it, you can actually say to the donor person, "Hey, thanks for the shit,"...and mean it literally.
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Any gamer on top of their game already knows this, but Gamer Alert anyway. From BetaNews:

- - the new season of Fortnite has arrived! With the arrival of Fortnite Season 6: Darkness Rises and the V6.00 patch, Epic Games put its servers into maintenance mode in preparation.

- - -
And in that good-ole, reliable, stable, high-standard, secure platform of MS Win 10 (snicker, snicker), a Fourth set of Win 10 cumulative updates patches issued in two weeks. Computer World:

In the past 15 days, we’ve had four cumulative updates for Win10 version 1803[:]
[.]
Apparently, KB 4458469 v2 is a Wednesday fix for a botched Thursday kitchen-sink cumulative update, which followed a Monday cumulative update that specifically fixed a bug introduced in the Patch Tuesday patch. Got that?
[.]
But wait. The weirdities don’t end there.

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Tech News World - Poorly designed websites no excuse for Terms of Agreement "fine print".

...legally valid sales agreements need to demonstrate clearly that both vendors and consumers are aware of -- and consent to -- the terms of the agreements. It is especially important for vendors to ward off expensive class action suits by including contract terms that prohibit such suits and instead rely on arbitration to resolve any issues with consumers.

Yet recent federal court cases indicate that poorly presented Internet contracts can result in the nullification of arbitration provisions and class action prohibitions -- thus giving consumers greater leverage in legal disputes with vendors.

Image: Damon Day

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Extreme Tech - NASA determines why earth wobbles on Axis:

NASA says it has now pinned down three causes for this shift. As expected, the loss of polar ice is a major contributor.

The other two "wobbly Axis" contributing factors are, oddly, the same: The Lard Lad Michael Moore's  spatial relationship at any moment and point on the earth in relation to the specific location to the rest of the world's 99% human population.

World News Links

India Today - Airplane overshoots runway, lands in sea:

The Air Niugini plane overshot the runway and sank in a sea lagoon at about 9.30 am local time on Friday. Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea.

Image: India Today

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Trump praises Brett Kavanaugh. The Telegraph:

President Donald Trump described Thursday's heated Senate hearing as "brutal" and "hard to watch" during an evening Republican fundraiser.

But he also praised his Supreme Court nominee for defending himself against allegations of sexual assault.

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Former judge's assistant weeps upon cocaine lie being uncovered. SMH:

The 34-year-old told the Downing Centre District Court on Friday he was "desperate" and "not thinking clearly" when he fabricated the story to conceal the fact police officers had caught him snorting cocaine in a Double Bay bar[.]

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Daily Beast - Star Wars Actress mocks Dr. Christine Ford:

... Los Angeles-based voice actress Rachel Butera thought another aspect of Ford’s testimony was worthy of attention—her voice.

In a now-deleted Twitter video, Butera mercilessly mocked Ford’s vocal mannerisms, specifically her slight vocal fry and her “baby” voice.
[.]
She added, “I sound like I’m still back at that high school party,” [.] (Uh- yeah, Ford she sure did/does. - DD)
[.]
“I can’t help it,” Butera said of her affected voice as she’s imitating Ford. “I just have this voice, like a baby, even though I’m a doctor…"

Rachel Butera's satire and parody of Ford's voice is spot-on, which is why the Libs went ballistic over Butera's satire and parody.
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China Daily -  Ministry of National Defense said the United States is solely to blame for the recent rise in tension between the Chinese and US militaries [sic][.]

Well, of course CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, the China Daily would say that.

Image credit: VCG

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French police chief stabbed to death. BBC:

Pascal Filoé was stabbed three times in the middle of the street by an individual known to police.
[.]
"The attacker was known to police. He had defaced the city hall door on 11 April", [said Mayor Christian Teyssèdre].

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Trump's Protectionist Gamble.  The story is published in Le Monde diplomatique. So you know what you're getting into before clicking the link.
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Time.com - Duterte Admits Extrajudicial Killings Occurred are, "my only sin."

In what was described as a rambling speech to government officials outside the presidential palace Thursday, Duterte conceded that his “only sin is the extrajudicial killings,”[.]
[.]
Although he has claimed to have personally killed at least three people in the past, Duterte has long denied responsibility for extrajudicial killings that occurred as part of his administration’s brutal war on drugs. Officials claim that casualties of the drug war died as a result of resisting arrest.

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Elon Musk and five facts from the SEC lawsuit against him.  The Telegraph:

Elon Musk’s share price was inspired by weed.

Tesla’s board had never received a formal proposal.

...employees were confused, but they still doubled down.

Saudi Arabia wanted its own Tesla factory.

Mr Musk sent the first tweet from his Tesla car.

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InFacts - Six months until Brexit, six months for people to fight it:

The government is in a mess, and there are no good options on the table. This is not a done deal. That’s why we need a People’s Vote to ask the public whether they still want to go through with this.

Here are six things you can do to help give the people the final say.

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TVNZ -  World Beer President named: 

Tim Cooper, managing director of the largest Australian-owned beer company, will serve a one-year term at the head of the 50,00-member Institute of Brewing and Distilling.

Lindsey Graham grew a pair !

I'm one of the last people who would consider leading a parade for Lindsey Graham, but who knew he grew a pair? CNBC: 

The South Carolina Republican lashed out at his Democratic colleagues and accused them of orchestrating an "unethical sham" against the appeals judge to keep a seat on the top U.S. court open. 

The media reports Graham's statements and behavior at today's Kavanaugh hearing as "erupting" or a "bizarre defense" (of Kavanaugh). 

The media reporting on a Liberal politician's behavior, in the same situation, would be instead described as, "passionate", "brave" and "compelling." Graham was exactly those terms. I didn't think he had it in him. Who knew?

Dick Durbin/Walter the Muppet...Water the Muppet/Dick Durbin

Senator Dick "Turban" Durbin (UberLib-Illinois), relying on his usual and over-the-top theatrics , (doesn't Durbin look like Walter the Muppet?), is described by media as "pushing" (read pressing [Kavanaugh]), or as part of a "firey exchange".

Durbin in 2005, we can't forget, compared American Soldiers at Gitmo to "Nazis and Soviet Gulags."  It's acceptable for Turban to say things like this because he's a Lib.

Cali's $110 Million Dollar Senator, Diane Whinestein? No credibility in the past and the same continues today. Fox News: 

"I don't believe my staff would leak it," Feinstein said in response to a question from Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. "I have not asked that question directly."

After a pause, apparently to consult with her staff, Feinstein told Cornyn: "The answer is no."

She's closing in on 100 years old, isn't she? She hasn't known ass from tea kettle for decades

Based on what I watched today and have read over the past week, my personal opinion and conclusion is some type of physical assault may have happened to Dr. Christine Ford almost 40-years ago. But, for me, it is far beyond reasonable doubt that the offender was Brett Kavanaugh. The evidence, thus far, isn't there.

"Paging Dr. Ford." Dr. Ford answers page.

Well...we're done  with waiting.

Christine Blasey Ford

Ford cites indelible hippocampus: 

Speaking about Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge, Ford spelled it out: “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter.["]
[.]
When senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the committee, asked her why she was “so sure,” Ford responded with a technical explanation of how trauma encodes memory. It was down to the level of “norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain,” she said, and how these neurotransmitters encode memories into the hippocampus. The end result, as Ford explained to the Senate, was that “trauma-related experience is locked there, so other memories just drift.”

Here's an interesting research study  on memory recall and retrieval, including false memory creation.

The hippocampus of other people, I guess, works differently.

Paging Dr. Ford...Paging Dr. Christine Blasey Ford...

This is beyond absurd

World News Links

Paralympic athlete accused of exaggerating impairment. Sydney Morning Herald:

Amanda Reid, who has represented Australia in swimming and cycling at two Paralympic Games, was accused by her former swimming coach this week of exaggerating her symptoms.

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AI algorithms hate the poor and disenfranchised.  The Next Web:

In an age where algorithms are “helping” government employees do their jobs, if you’re not straight, not white, or not living above the poverty line you’re at greater risk of unfair bias.

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News24 - Gulfstream blows two tires taking off in New Jersey; emergency lands in New York.

The pilot soon realised [sic] what had happened and began circling the airport for about 30 minutes before the jet was diverted.

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News Australia: Argument over mattress leaves one man dead.
(Advisory: graphic video at link).

“If you come within three feet of me, I’m going to kill you,” Mr Miller tells Mr Howard. Seconds later, two gunshots are heard. The chilling clip — shot by Mr Howard’s wife Kara Box — also shows Michael firing the shotgun after the first two shots are fired.

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UK PM Theresa May,"demands respect." MSN:

"Throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it," [said May].
[.]
May will hope that her tough stance against the EU will insulate her from further such criticism, ahead of the Conservatives' annual conference, which begins September 30.

Yeah...good luck on the 'hope', there, Teereeeeza.
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WSTP: More Baby Boomers turning to marijuana, says study.

A new study from researchers at New York University shows the number of baby boomers using marijuana is skyrocketing. And the amount of people age 65 and up is also increasing.

“They’re using it more because it helps,” said Joe Redner, a medical marijuana advocate and owner of Mons Venus strip club in Tampa. A cancer patient, he has been fighting for the right to grow his own medicinal pot.

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Tit: Deutsche Welle - Iran says, "Trump a threat to Middle East."

...[the] threat is the Trump administration's sense of entitlement to destabilize the world along with rogue accomplices in our region," [said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter].

Tat? Islamic Republic News - "Pompeo threatens Iran."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stark warning to Iran Friday, telling CNN that Washington will take direct action against Tehran for any attacks, even those using proxy forces, against US interests.

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China is updating its military and no one is saying much. The Diplomat:

...Chinese military power has been very good and continues to improve, [with a trend] toward emphasizing new pieces of equipment over upgrades of existing equipment. This is unfortunate for it leads to an underestimation of Chinese military power and a misunderstanding of possible future trajectories.

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Whiny canoeists try to sue Trump for frequent Potomac closings. Washingtonian:

“This is not a personal animosity against the Trump, or any, administration. We’re just trying to paddle our own canoes,”  [said Canoe Cruisers Association chair Barbara Brown].

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AFP: Journalist murdered in Mexico is ninth in 2018.

Mario Gomez, a reporter with El Heraldo de Chiapas [...] was leaving for work when two unidentified men arrived and "murdered him in cold blood" with a series of shots to the abdomen.
[.]
Mexico is the second-deadliest country in the world for journalists after war-torn Syria, according to the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

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Convicted drug trafficker at the centre of the Australian strawberry contamination scandal. Stuff-New Zealand:

Donnybrook Berries, at Elimbah near Caboolture in the heart of strawberry country north of Brisbane, is owned by [drug trafficker] Pasquale "Pat" Cufari from Mildura, in the Australian state of Victoria.

He was not at the family property on farmland, on the outskirts of Mildura, when Fairfax Media arrived.  Two men came to the front of the home where a red Ferrari was parked in the drive.

1): Would anyone really expect him to be at home?
2): Wouldn't we all be disappointed if anything less than a red Ferrari was parked in the drive?
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See the car on the left...backing-up? Can you guess where it's going? View the video at the New Zealand Herald:

Image-Video: Blair Powell

 "They passed me at speed at first," he recalls, adding that, once they approached Beaumont Bridge, a one-lane bridge, they did not even seem to notice the traffic light was there.

"They went straight through the red light, completely ignored it," [said Blair Powell].

World News Links

Jet Airways loses cabin pressure, flight of horror. Hindustan Times:

...the cabin crew forgot to put on a key switch that maintains cabin pressure. Hathi and other passengers reported screams and cries of fear as the aircraft climbed, with the emergency oxygen masks eventually coming down.

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Kimmy Junior wants to meet with Trump again.  New Zealand Star:

A summary released by the Pyongyang Press Corps noted that Kim Jong Un wants the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to visit Pyongyang to hurry the denuclearization process, as part of which North Korea aims to set up another summit with Trump "as soon as possible."

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First Post: Rite Aid shooter had no one targeted.

"She didn't have a particular target. She was just shooting. She didn't aim. She just shot,"  [said Krystal Watson].

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Winemaker jailed; didn't tell cops about friend's cannabis crop. SMH:

Griffith winemaker Marcello Casella has been jailed for at least six months for failing to tell police about a large cannabis crop grown by a long-time friend.

Casella, 58, pleaded guilty in June to concealing a serious indictable offence after he failed to tell police about the crop of 2750 cannabis plants grown on a farm at Crowther in south-western NSW in late 2013 and early 2014.

He didn't rat on his friend. It's nice to know that honor among...lawbreakers...is still sometimes upheld. :)
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Mummified penguin chicks discovered in Antarctica. Australian Broadcast Corp: 

Scientists said the discovery holds clues to two massive weather-related calamities that wiped out large numbers of birds, one about 200 years ago and one around 750 years ago.

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i News:  Passing Heavy Metal and Mosh-pit etiquette on to the next generation.

Rules include immediately picking up people who had fallen over at a gig and' anyone who is hurt being taken to the bar by the person responsible.

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Ireland vexes the UK and EU in Brexit. Deutsche Welle:

...it appeared that the UK and the EU were no closer to solving the most intractable issues at hand: how to avoid imposing a harder border on the island of Ireland and how to handle future trade.

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Hmmmmmm...Iran removes import limit on gold and foreign currencies. Mehr News:

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has eased currency rules and ordered the customs to allow merchants to bring foreign currency banknotes or gold into the country in a bid to curb further depreciation of the rial.

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The rise of the Spying Transit Police. Blacklisted News: 

Today's Public Transit Police Departments offer a frightening glimpse into the future of commuter surveillance.

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France24: Brazil's eccentric presidential candidate Cabo Daciolo says God wants him to win.

Cabo Daciolo, who calls himself a messenger from heaven, says he wants to expel Satan from Congress[.]

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The No Chill: Kanye West is a clone.

Current Kanye is an Illuminati Clone

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Burger King vs a colonial burial ground.  The Day: 

About 40 opponents of a proposed Burger King gathered Thursday evening in the historic colonial burying ground to hear historic preservation advocates express concerns that the project could impact the cemetery and that early burials could exist on the other side of the 19th century stone wall that divides the properties.