Tuesday, January 8, 2019

"Alexa, flush." Alexa: "Flushing process begun." Flushing is hard.

CNBC: The Kohler $7 Grand Toilet:
Kohler unveiled an "intelligent toilet" called the Numi 2.0 at the Consumer Electronic Show[.]
[.]
It also has Amazon Alexa voice controls built in so you can check the weather, listen to news and order more toilet paper all while sitting on the loo.
Technology provides us, if we choose it, to bypass the physically strenuous act of dialing a phone to order a pizza. Instead, if we choose, we can order said pizza by a few keystrokes on an app. When the pizza arrives, we can if we choose to engage technology, answer and open the door for said pizza, thereby avoiding having to get up off our ass to obtain said pizza. Payment and tip concluded long ago via the app.

Then the task of actually having to feed ourselves is upon us. Will someone break out in a sweat lifting those slices? Pull a humerus or ulna muscle? The act of chewing? Strenuous, pain-inducing torture. Anyone wanna wager that future members of The Seated App Generation will see increases in heart and circulatory-related health problems?

Go ahead, Have a slice. You know you want it!

The Cluck and Nancy Show

What a crock of pure manure.


More Cluck and Nancy Show Bullshittery...

...at CNN, the story being updated every few minutes.

...at BBC, a synopsis of the issue, President Trump's address and Cluck and Nancy's Bullshittery.

...at CNBC, you can view (maybe a second time, but why would you do that?) the Cluck and Nancy Show. Or not.

And a bit strange, considering how sanctimonious Cluck and Nancy sounded in tonight's rebuttal, that in such a spirit of bipartisanship, the Dems filibustered bipartisan foreign policy yesterday, instead, demanding a vote to reopen the government.

These two. Who votes for them? I don't understand it. I really don't.

France Surrenders Gets Tough on Yellow Vests


Evening Standard: New legislation to punish Yellow Vests.
France plans to introduce new legislation to punish protesters after seven weeks of violent “yellow vest” demonstrations.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke after rioters torched motorbikes and set barricades on fire on Paris's upmarket Boulevard Saint-Germain on Saturday.
Morning StarWearing masks will be banned.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who compared the protesters to “football hooligans,” said new legislation would ban so-called troublemakers from demonstrations and ban the wearing of masks.
[.]
[The Yellow Vests] are demanding the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron whose hard-line response to the protest movement appears to have backfired with no sign of the demonstrations ending.

Concessions offered by Mr Macron, including pausing the unpopular fuel tax, have been rejected as anger grows over poverty and unemployment.

Last week saw the arrest of prominent gilets jaunes activist Eric Drouet, a truck driver from Paris, who was charged with “organising an undeclared demonstration.”

And former professional boxer Christophe Dettinger was arrested yesterday after video footage in which he appeared to be punching a police riot officer went viral.
Heh...Hooligans. Such a great, yet underused, word. BTW, 'Ze vee-dee-o ov ze box-ar paan-ching ze po-leez ovvizer iz here.

Banning the wearing of masks obviously brings the question of how will they specifically define what is, and isn't, a mask? Clown masks? Crazy Clown masks? What about a Head-Face ski mask for warmth? A Neck-scarf? I suppose these will be outlawed. What about Purdahs?

More importantly...what about Mort from Bazooka Joe? Would France deny entry to Mort for refusing to lower his turtle neck shirt?

Mort

New Tech at the Consumer Electronics Show

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is under way.

What's new at the CES?

Journal Sentinel: Five Cool Tech Items.
Air Bags for cyclists: A French company called Helite makes air bags for motorcyclists and horse riders. And now it has produced air bags for those of you on bicycles. This "smart" bag, selling for $650 when it comes out in March, has built-in sensors that promise to detect when to inflate the bag – meaning, not when you ride over over bumps, but rather when you are in an actual accident.
Hit the link for the other four items.

The Walking Car. AutoExpress:
Hyundai has announced its plan for a robotic concept car at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Called the “Elevate,” it would be capable of walking over rough terrain, spanning gaps up to five-feet across and scaling obstacles up to five feet tall; all while maintaining a perfectly level passenger compartment.
Hyundai's Walking Car

More on the walking car from Hyundai:
Wheels with robotic legs allow users to drive, walk or even climb over the most treacherous terrain.
[.]
The legs also fold up into a stowed drive-mode, where power to the joints is cut, and the use of an integrated passive suspension system maximizes battery efficiency. This allows Elevate to drive at highway speeds just like any other vehicle. But no other can climb a five foot wall, step over a five foot gap, walk over diverse terrain, and achieve a 15 foot wide track width, all while keeping its body and passengers completely level.
Watch the Elevate here.

More gadgets at IFL Science, including: Intelligent Toilets, the LG ExoSuit, Foldable Smartphones.

A self-driving Tesla ran over and "killed" an autonomous robot. Daily Mail:
In what many are speculating was an over-the-top PR stunt, Promobot revealed one of its model v4 robots was ‘killed’ by a Tesla Model S on a Las Vegas street ahead of CES.
Rosie The Robot; unharmed at CES
Design Boom: LG's rollable OLED TV.

Clean Technia: Harey-Davidson's Electric Motorcycle.

Digital Trends: The latest Mobile Accessories at CES.

PC MagRokit's high-tech cell and smart phones.

The Biden Buzz. Hey Joe, what's the website number?

Joe "The Great, Legendary, Acclaimed Plagiarist" Biden and his possible run for the White House is generating buzz.

WTVR - Biden will announce 2020 presidential run "soon."
Biden’s silence has raised questions among some Democratic donors and activists about whether he is ambivalent about running and uncertain about plunging his family into a bruising campaign, despite friends saying Biden has repeatedly argued he is the party’s strongest candidate to defeat President Donald Trump.
[.]
[Said Biden], “I wouldn’t announce even if I were going to run that early. It’d be too early to get started.” [Timing] “would depend on the circumstances in the field and a whole lot of things.”
Ohhh...Ahhh...."circumstances in the field and a whole lot of things." He sounds so scientific and impressive. A deep thinker. He inspires confidence, doesn't he?

The Jeff Bezos Peoples' Republic examines what they call "a problem with Biden's rationale" for a 2020 run:
Other possible contenders and their supporters naturally would take issue with Biden’s assessment, citing his age, his goofiness and his identity as a Washington insider as liabilities. They’d argue that he’s too moderate to satisfy the progressive base. In addition, it’s far from clear that the Democratic Party wants a 70-something white guy as its standard-bearer.
Hey, hey, hey - stop right there. Let's not be slacky on the "70-something" age of Biden. The Left made John McCain's age an issue on his presidential run. Biden will be turning 78 on November 20, 2020. We're safe in rounding that up to 80.

Let's not forget Biden's "A-Game" Classic Moment in February 2009, when he asked, "Do you know the website number?"  LA Times Blogs:
While discussing Recovery.gov, the taxpayer's stimulus guide The Ticket wrote about this morning, on the CBS Early Show today, Biden was asked what the address for the website was.

His clueless response undoubtedly put a smile on the faces of tech savvy viewers.

"You know, I'm embarrassed," Biden said. Turning to someone off screen, he asked, "Do you know the website number?"

Bloggers and Twitter users scoffed at the phrase "website number" over the course of the day. Such a misnomer wouldn't be a shock coming from most 66-year-olds, but the Obama administration has emitted an air of tech savvy up until now. "Website number" sounds like something we'd hear from Sen. John McCain.

Joe considers himself the best Dem candidate. MSN:
In one of his calls over the holidays, Mr. Biden repeated a variation of a line he has used publicly: “If you can persuade me there is somebody better who can win, I’m happy not to do it,” he said[.]
[.]
But then Mr. Biden said something he has not stated so bluntly in public: “But I don’t see the candidate who can clearly do what has to be done to win.”
The Week"Joe doesn't 'get it'."  Most of us concluded this a long time ago.

We know Biden thinks dividing up geographical areas - like countries - is a great solution for intra-geographical - like countries - problems.

Iraq? NBC News:  Joe says, split it up into three.

Israel? VOA News: Joe says, split it in two.

Maybe Joe is the One who, if elected president, could successfully split the USA into two entities; Red State - Blue State. We'd all be happy with that, right? We should probably give another look at supporting Joe, for this reason alone. 'Ya think?

Run, Joe, run! You too Hillary! And Bernie, God love him; run Bernie, run! I'm looking forward to the Clown Show.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Scientists Lament Unable To Contribute To Climate Change

Thousands of scientists unable to attend the "Super Bowl of Astronomy" due to government shut down. Phys.org:
The world's largest airborne observatory was supposed to be parked in Seattle this week, so thousands of scientists attending the "Super Bowl of Astronomy" could behold this marvel: a Boeing 747 outfitted with a massive telescope used to study the fundamental mysteries of the universe.

But conference-goers will not be able to see NASA's space-exploring plane. Its visit to the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was canceled, one of a growing list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown now stretching into its third week.
[.]
...the shutdown's impact on science stretches well beyond the empty chairs at this week's conferences, said Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society. It means some of the nation's smartest scientific minds are sitting at home, not doing science, for weeks, with no clear end in sight.

"That's difficult to recover from," said Seitter. "We'll be seeing ripple effects from this for a long time."
Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

"...sitting at home, not doing science..." and yadda, yadda, yadda. Tragic.

"...rippling effects from this for a long time." Oh! Teh Fucking Draa-mah!

They "can't see the NASA plane." Yes, the world awaits the invention of Virtual Reality or some kind of device that allows you to view places, people and things without having to be physically present.

It's a shame they have no viable methods to communicate with each other during the government shut down. Alone, sitting in silence, with Chester Cheetah Cheetos. All those equations and algorithms popping in their heads and no one to bounce it off of. Somebody should really do something about this. Clearly, the government shut down must end.


In a related issue, president of the World Bank resigns early. 9 News:
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has unexpectedly resigned, more than three years before his term ends in 2022, amid differences with the Trump administration over climate change and the need for more development resources.

Kim, nominated by former US President Barack Obama for two five-year terms, had pushed financing for green energy projects and largely dropped support for coal power investments, but had avoided public clashes with the Trump administration, which has made reviving the US coal sector a priority.

Unseen Terror of The Bird Box Unveiled

Daily Mail - Bird Box nightmare creature unveiled.
Fans who have seen Netflix's hit horror film Birdbox will be aware that you never actually see the nightmare creature which has plunged Earth into apocalyptic times.

But now the special effects sculptor tasked with crafting the nightmarish creature has finally revealed it, sharing pictures of the models he created for the movie.

Andy Bergholtz posted the images of the creature, which was used in a scene later cut from the movie, to Instagram.
"Bird Box" Terror. Image: Andy Bergholtz




I watched "Bird Box". It was okay. Better than the usual fare. A novel idea and concept. But if I experienced a "vision" of the above, no, it wouldn't cause me to kill myself as it did with the characters in the film. "Bird Box" runs about two hours. It could have easily been clipped to ninety minutes and not lost anything. John Malkovich is in it and he always puts in a good performance.

The Daily Mail link has more images of the "creature".

Anyone else watch it? Like? Dislike? Other? Drop a note.

Another Black Man Found Dead in home of Wealthy White Dem Donor Ed Buck

KTLA: Death Reported at West Hollywood Home of Wealthy Political Donor Ed Buck — For the 2nd Time.
For the second time within 18 months, a man has died at the West Hollywood home of wealthy Democratic donor Edward Buck, authorities said Monday.

Paramedics responded to Buck's home in the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue shortly after 1 a.m., where they discovered a victim described only as a black male in his 50s unresponsive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
[.]
His death comes more than a year after 26-year-old Gemmel Moore was found dead from an apparent overdose at the same home on July 27, 2017. Officials confirmed Buck was present during both incidents and Moore's case is now facing another review.

"It is suspicious that this has happened twice now," L.A. County Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred told KTLA.

Buck is currently not considered a suspect and not in custody, officials said.
[.]
[Gemmel's mother], Latisha Nixon, has accused 65-year-old Buck of having young black men like her son ingest dangerous amounts of drugs for his own pleasure. She has said other escorts have confirmed the allegations.

"Ed Buck has been soliciting young gay black men," Nixon said weeks after her son's death.

"He has them wear these long white ‘under-johns.’ He takes pictures of them," she said. "He hits them up with meth. The more meth that they smoke and inject, the more money that he gives them."
More: Who Is Ed Buck?, at WEHOville.

Edward Buckmelter
The Advocate:
The name of the person who died in Buck's home in the early hours of Monday has not been released. Wehoville described him as a young African-American man and featured a picture of a body being removed on a gurney.

Community activists like Jasmyne Cannick have accused Los Angeles officials of declining to prosecute Buck in 2017 thanks to his contributions to powerful politicians such as Hillary Clinton, California Gov. Jerry Brown, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, and numerous West Hollywood City Council members. Cannick is organizing a vigil and rally for tonight in front of Buck's home, at 1234 Laurel Ave.
Open Secrets: Buck's political donations. Lots of $$$ to lots of Dems.

Another story to watch play out. How much MSM coverage will this story get? Are Al Sharpton and Reverend Jesse Jackson on their way to Laurel Avenue? Will Jim Acosta ask [fill in the name of any Dem/Lib pol or pundit] about their association with, or political contributions from, Ed Buck?

German Data Hack

Hacked info on German politicians and celebrities has been published on the web. Presumably, the German pols and celebs refused to pay the ransom.

The hacking group behind this is The Dark Over Lord. (DOL). DOL has been posting on Steemit.

This is an interesting event, if there is substance in the data that has been allegedly hacked. Germany's Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, seeks answers on the success of the hack. DW:
The interior minister said he would share everything he finds out with the public by the middle of the next week at the latest.
But it gets more complicated than that. Same link:
German political parties have criticized the country's cyber defense agency, the Federal Office for IT Safety (BSI), for its handling of the data breach.

The BSI clarified that it only became aware  of the full extent of the breach earlier this week on Saturday, a day after BSI chief Arne Schönbohm said the agency had known about isolated breaches in early December.

The Green party's parliamentary leader, Anton Hofreiter, demanded Schönbohm explain himself urgently to an extraordinary parliamentary committee meeting.

The deputy leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), Wolfgang Kubicki, suggested that Schönbohm should quit.

"A president who first says he's known about the breach since the beginning of December and then backtracks to say he's only known about it since January 3 must ask himself if he's the right man for the job," he said.
Something is amiss here with BSI. What, I don't know. Or has yet to be discovered and reported.

While the DOL was a Big Hack, the Island Packet states, it doesn't appear to have revealed any major political scandals. (Not even one, lost Hillary email?)


WIRED writes: 
The trove of leaked documents is massive but early assessments indicate that it seems focused less on exposing state secrets than it does on revealing deeply personal information about its targets. The exposed data includes internal political communications, like emails and scans of faxes, along with credit card information, home addresses, phone numbers, personal identification card details, private chat logs, and even voicemails from relatives and children.
Not so fast on the "no scandals/no secrets". At Computer Business Review, the second link of this post, the story states the hack revealed a lot of information that is mirrored (duplicated) at numerous sites and there's a lot of data to comb through.
The leak was made with strenuous effort to ensure that the leaked documents can’t easily be taken down. There there over 70 mirrors of the initial download link alone, while each of the 40 download links has another 3-5 mirrors each.

Each of the tens of thousands of files uploaded appears to have its own or indeed multiple mirrors; something that would have taken a huge amount of manpower.
[.]
“3 percent” of the data had already revealed “cases of corruption and bad political scandals”. 4chan users were already revelling [sic] in some of the scandals today, from sexual proclivities to Wikipedia edits by politicians.
Tru News reports the DOL has begun releasing 9/11 documents.
By themselves, the new documents don’t set off too many alarms, but they do establish that The Dark Overlord certainly had access to sensitive materials.
[.]
[The DOL states], “The United States of America & All Involved Parties,” also added:

“This is a message for the nation-state of the United States of America and the greater deep-state.

“We're going to continue to bend you over a barrel and [expletive] you if our demands are not met. You know the score. Your censorship and fakenews coverups won't silence this organisation or its public support. You were warned. To all the other parties involved (airlines, litigation firms, investigation firms, FBI, TSA, FAA, banks, security companies and more), we're going to burn you down unless you begin to 'play ball'. This entire situation will soon become far more tragick to your survival. Make the right choise.

“We're peeling these layers back like an onion. No one can save you except for us. Pay the [expletive] up.”

The use of English grammar and punctuation, particularly in the ransom demands, strongly suggests the author of both statements is not from the U.S.
Or, grammatically incorrect on purpose? Or, so the Germans would have us believe? I'm not making light of anything here with that last link, who knows what information could have been hacked? We won't know until, or if, it's leaked. The DOL story is not unlike Q, or QAnon, which Phil explained so well.

For me, at times I find it difficult making sense out of the time-lines, and determining what's important and what to disregard, on issues like this at the threads at the Chan sites. This global hack, and issues like it, will reveal themselves over time. I'd imagine any explosive revelation in any forthcoming release from the hack would be headlined everywhere. We'll see. Your thoughts?

MN Governor Switcheroo. Out: Mark Dayton Richie Rich; In: Another Tim"my"

Some might call him Tim.

Considering our last Tim, maybe the Minnesota Legislature can pony up a Bill, signed by the new Tim, decreeing no more governors in MN can have the name Tim. Or Timmy. Or any variation thereof.

"No more Tim-mahs?"



The new Dem Governor Timmy Walz Canned Ham is anxious to raise the gas tax. Time will tell, Timmy.

Gov Canned Ham will take the oath of office January 7, 2019.


Mark Dayton Richie Rich can return to frolicking in the vast Dayton family fortune. Good riddance. Go to the cabin. Fish. Read comic books. Do the Soduko. Sign-up and Volunteer for Meals on Wheels. Promise to steer clear of public office, elected and appointed. Be retired.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

This is how real people live.

It's like the Twilight Zone episode.

Newsweek: Billionaire vacations to get back to basics.
Particular attention is given to the families of billionaires hoping to bring kids along for a world-hopping adventure.
[.]
“They want their children to see some real life, but in a safe and secure way,” [said Tom Barber, founder of London-based travel agency Original Travel], so that his clients can show their children “how real people live.”
Must be a tough life.

Puppy No Like Teh Candle

Cake, sure. Candle. Why?

Why dogs don’t need Birthday cake with candles. pic.twitter.com/2eP975PEBr

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Pelosi Does "Bird Box" Challenge



Nancy Pelosi takes the "Bird Box" Challenge. 

Not much different from her past vision. Just add blindfold.

Mitt Goes to Washington

Desert News: Mitt Romney's niece sides with Trump.
GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement supporting President Donald Trump and challenging her uncle, Utah Sen.-elect Mitt Romney, on Wednesday morning.

McDaniel’s tweet came less than 12 hours after Romney wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post that spoke out against Trump.
[.]
“What is interesting is that [Romney's op/ed] was sent to a national news organization. He was clearly attempting to address the nation and the world in some way. Before his first official day on the job Mitt Romney is already shaping the conversation in Washington,” [said] Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.
Without John McCain and Jeff Flake, someone has to take up the (ahem...) moral compass (cough, cough, hack). Leave it to Mitt.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Tech News

The Technocralypse (Technocracy+Apocalypse) is upon us.

Engineering the end of Capitalism - The Independent:
The new era is characterised by inefficient fossil fuel production and escalating costs of climate change. Conventional capitalist economic thinking can no longer explain, predict or solve the workings of the global economy in this new age.
[.]
British economics journalist Paul Mason's...digital uprising is projected to consume evermore vast quantities of energy (as much as one-fifth of global electricity by 2025), producing 14 per cent of global carbon emissions by 2040.
[.]
... the driving force of the transition to postcapitalism is the end of the age that made endless growth capitalism possible in the first place: the age of abundant, cheap energy.
- - -
TechnocracyThe Coming Technocracy.
Here are equivalent concepts: Technocracy, Sustainable Development, Green Economy, Natural Capitalism. All of this is a grand deception[.]
[.]
It is a scam to twist the economic resources of the world out of your hands and give them to the global elite. It is a power grab to take over all means of production while dictating to you what you are allowed to consume. It is a Scientific Dictatorship designed to control you, your thoughts, your behavior, your consumption and your family from cradle to cradle.
- - -
Cyberwar outlook for 2019. ZD Net:
In the US, the September 2018 National Cyber Strategy adopted an aggressive stance, promising to "deter and if necessary punish those who use cyber tools for malicious purposes."
[.]
"The [Trump] Administration recognizes that the United States is engaged in a continuous competition against strategic adversaries, rogue states, and terrorist and criminal networks. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea all use cyberspace as a means to challenge the United States, its allies, and partners, often with a recklessness they would never consider in other domains."
Cybersecurity in 2019. Tech Crunch:
Expect more data leaks and exposures — but not just breaches.

California’s privacy rules will come to a head.

Brexit will hamper U.K. tech, startup growth.

Australia’s draconian encryption laws will begin to hurt.
- - -
Surveillance of Your Gestures Coming Soon: Soli, by...(who else?) Google. Ivan Poupyrev, Project Soli:
Soli is a new sensing technology that uses miniature radar to detect touchless gesture interactions.

Soli sensor technology works by emitting electromagnetic waves in a broad beam. Objects within the beam scatter this energy, reflecting some portion back towards the radar antenna. Properties of the reflected signal, such as energy, time delay, and frequency shift capture rich information about the object’s characteristics and dynamics, including size, shape, orientation, material, distance, and velocity.
FCC Approves Google Gesture Tracking Soli. The Register:
...Google has received an exemption from the Federal Communication Commission that will allow the ad biz to run the system at higher power levels than regulations currently allow.

Project Soli sensors consist of hardware capable of tracking hand gestures or objects in a specific area of space. 
- - -
UberGizmo - Electric garage door malfunction crunches Jeep.

Image from UberGizmo
According to posters on Reddit, this Jeep Wrangler was crushed when the electric garage malfunctioned due to the control unit getting flooded. This tripped the power which presumably knocked out all of the sensors which would have prevented this to happen. The malfunctioning garage kept raising the lift even as the Jeep struck the roof and was crushed.
- - -
Computer WorldWhy MS Edge died.
EdgeHTML, in part because of its lackadaisical upgrade cadence, was rarely able to catch up, or if it did, maintain equality, with Chrome in properly rendering pages or rendering them at speed.
- - -
TechSpotWi-Fi 6 is Near.
Wi-Fi 6 will have a single-user data rate that is 37% faster than 802.11ac, but what's more significant is that the updated specification will offer four times the throughput per user in crowded environments, as well as better power efficiency which should translate to a boost in device battery life.
[.]
When Wi-Fi 6 is launched in full, the specification will be backward compatible with previous standards, incorporating both 2.4GHz and 5GHz along with eventually expanding that spectrum to include bands in 1GHz and 6GHz when they become available.
- - -
Beta NewsDark Mode Chrome.
An increasing number of apps and websites are gaining dark modes, often simply for the sake of aesthetics, but also because of power-saving considerations.
- - -
ZD NetUSB Type C for increased security.
The USB Type-C Authentication solution will include: a standard protocol of authentication for USB Type-C chargers, devices, cables, and power sources; support for authenticating over either USB data bus or USB power delivery communications channels; [and several other reasons].
- - -
PC WorldTech that Died in 2018.
The yawn-inspiring personal assistant Facebook M stopped working in January after a general launch in April 2017. Lastly, Yahoo Messenger, one of the last remaining classic instant messengers, went away in July. Messenger outlasted its more notable rivals, AOL’s AIM (1997-2017) and MSN/Windows Live Messenger (1999-2012).

Bernie Was Busy...Unaware of 2016 Campaign Sexist Behavior

Bernie was busy. The Guardian:
Senator Bernie Sanders has said he was not aware of allegations of sexism and pay discrimination that occurred during his insurgent campaign for president in 2016[.]
[.]
Asked during an interview on CNN if he was aware of the claims at the time, Sanders replied that he was not.

“I was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case,”
he said.

Mean Gene Okerlund Dies, Age 76

WWE's Mean Gene Okerlund has died. Daily Star:
WWE legend 'Mean' Gene Okerlund has died aged 76 sparking a flooding of tributes as he was remembered as the voice that defined an era of wrestling.
From MSN:
Okerlund got his start with the American Wrestling Association, where interviewed the likes of Jesse “The Body” Ventura — who gave him his “Mean Gene” moniker — Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and [Hulk] Hogan. Okerlund became a staple on national cable TV after he made the move to the WWE, where he had notable interviews with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior, among many others.
The Denver Post:
He was “a voice and sound track to an entire era of our industry,” WWE’s Triple H tweeted Wednesday morning.
[.]
Okerlund’s career spanned decades, taking him from the American Wrestling Association to the then-World Wrestling Federation to World Championship Wrestling.
Mean Gene; 1942-2019

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2019 Generic Predictions Guaranteed Accurate

She's really going out on a limb, here. CBS News NY:
...we asked Psychic Nikki to shed some light on the year ahead. This is what she sees for the the coming year.

"The world will still be a tumultuous place[.]"
[...]
"[T]he stock market is going to be up and down."
[...]
"Extreme weather events will continue...The weather is very mixed up."
[...]
 “People want to be happier.”
Psychic Nikki's site states, "THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN LEARN TO DO."

Nikki. PTTS.

I won't, and can't, pretend to have this Six-Sense awareness of Psychic Nikki. Shirley, it takes some kind of keen foresight I don't have.

Some days during 2019 will be more sunny/cloudy/rainy/windy than other days.

Lots of people will continue spending time staring into black mirrors.
 
More, and or less, and or the same, amount of people will visit your site or blog depending on the content and how much time they have.

Summer may prove to be a time of possible increase in vacations or time off from work.

Library hours may vary.

My future NHL predictions will continue to be hazy. 3 to 1. Maybe.

That'll be $250.00.

2019 The Morning After

Picture: Caters

Ah yes, the hangovers, the brawls, the puking. Metro:
Things appear to have got a little bit too out of hand for some people taking part in the world’s biggest party. Spilling out of clubs and parties up and down the country, these pictures show it’s not going to start off as a very Happy New Year.
Hit the link, check out the images. Glad those days are long gone for me. Looooooooong gone.

Hope you awoke headache/hangover-free.

Monday, December 31, 2018

Happy New Year

2019 is already here in some parts of the world.


May 2019 go by a bit slower than did 2018.

A Happy and Blessed New Year to All!

NHL Monday and NHL Sunday Recap

Yesterday's only NHL game had Vegas beating Arizona 5 - 1. It was the third win in a row for Vegas. And, no surprise here, my prediction of AZ winning 4-2 was...incorrect.

Thirteen games on tap today.

Nashville plays in Washington and Vancouver in NJ. These two games are just about to hit the ice. The other 11 games start at 5PM EST or later. So if your NY Eve plans are hanging out at home, and you're not sure what to watch, well, check out a hockey game or three.


Happy Hockey and Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 30, 2018

One NHL Game Tonight. One!?!?!

Only one NHL game on tonight, Vegas playing in Arizona.

Vegas is # 3 and the Coyotes rank at # 7, both in the Pacific Division.

With 15 NHL games yesterday, I guess having only ONE game today is...something NHL fans will have to live with.

We could expect Vegas to win over AZ tonight, but AZ beat the # 4 ranked Anaheim Ducks last night, 5 - 4 in OT in what was a heck of a good game.

The Wild beat the Jets yesterday, 3 - 1. Wouldn't have predicted a Wild win against the Jets, considering Matt Dumba is on the injured list and not expected to play for 3 months.

Oddsshark has Vegas winning over the Coyotes 3.2 to 2.6.

Vegas beat bottom-ranked LA 4 - 1 last night and as previously noted, the Coyotes beat the Ducks.

Vegas will probably win tonight...probably. But I'll take a stab at a prediction of AZ beating Vegas 4 - 2.


Happy Hockey!
- - -
Disclaimer: All fantasy "final score predictions", are not meant to be, or intended to be, or construed as, or subconsciously suggested as, advice on which to make wagers or "sports"-betting. It is simply the observation of an NHL fan. If you have even the slightest desire to gamble based on anything written here, immediately seek help from your doctor and/or call 911. I am not responsible for any losses, financial, emotional or otherwise. You agree fully to the above, without exceptions or objections, by visiting this site. Yes you do. Yes. You do.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Newspapers under Cyberattack

No lulls as we close-out the last few days of 2018.

ABC 7, Chicago: Cyberattack from outside U.S. hit major newspapers.
Tribune Publishing -- which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers impacted -- reported the attack to the FBI on Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.
Global NewsCyberattack responsible for delays in newspaper distribution.
The cyberattack appeared to originate outside the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.
[...]
“There is no evidence that customer credit card information or personally identifiable information has been compromised,” [said Tribune Publishing spokeswoman Marisa Kollias, explaining] the virus hurt back-office systems used to publish and produce “newspapers across our properties.”
SBS NewsSophisticated cyberattack hits U.S. newspapers.
The computer problem shut down a number of crucial software systems that store news stories, photographs and administrative information, and made it difficult to create the plates used to print the papers at The Times' downtown plant.
This attack on U.S. newspapers must be the work of Trump and Russia/Putin or Trump and North Korea/Kimmy Junior. Good for him/them.

Tech News

TechDirt - Students charged with terroristic threats for posting video of fictional school shooting.
Three students face felony charges of making a terroristic threat for posting online two brief videos where they act out a school shooting in someone’s house.
[...]
Content disturbing to others is present in a lot of content. Just because this dramatization happened to be produced by students and distributed by Instagram doesn't somehow entitle it to less First Amendment protection than a motion picture released by a major studio.
[...]
Sheriff Craig Apple's speech -- as moronic as it is -- is also protected by the same First Amendment he won't extend to these students.

    “There’s been enough shootings going on around the country. This is despicable artistic expression, if that’s what it was.”
Is the video protected under the First Amendment or is the sheriff's interpretation of the video consistent within the context of preventing a potential threat?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
- - -
Business Times: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it will fix years to FB's problems.

Who...knew?

Gadgets NowIndia law misunderstood by FB moderators. 
[Facebook moderators are advised] that any post degrading an entire religion violates Indian law and should be flagged for removal.

[Another instructs moderators] to "look out for" the phrase "Free Kashmir" - though the slogan, common among activists, is completely legal.
- - -
Ars Technia: Residential home battery (power) not energy efficient in most cases.
"There may be good reasons to decentralize the grid through ubiquitous installation of small RES [Residential Energy Storage], but cost-effective emissions control is not one of them at the moment," the researchers write.
- - -
Caution - story contains AI created "scary" names (I'm looking out for the easily frightened Libs, here.); Ars Technia:
AI invents New Year fireworks names that sound more like the end of humanity.
[...]
Flaming Thundersplont Box
Red flashing cake
Machine Blinking Display
Black Moo
Original Cat Pix Budget 2 Boom
Yikes! Machine Blinking Display and Original Cat Pix Budget 2 Boom. Run Away ! Run Away !
- - -
Coffee? Tea? Lots of room?

- - -
...wind turbines are rather loud and robins have to adapt. In these areas where wind turbines are present, robins drop their lower pitch and go for the trademark puffed up red chest instead. Little birds cannot compete against the low hum of the wind turbine blades.
- - -
TechRadarMS 2018 retrospective.
...the October 2018 Update has been the most problematic and buggy update ever released for Microsoft’s OS, outdoing even the infamous Anniversary Update.
[.]
Another major development for Microsoft in 2018 was that the firm finally admitted that it had got things wrong with the default web browser for Windows 10. The company has been pushing hard with Edge for a good while now, but to no avail[.]
WccfTech: Here comes Win 10 forced update v 1809.
We are still waiting for user reports to see if they have experienced any Windows 10 forced updates over the last few days. But, if you want to avoid Windows 10 version 1809, it would be wise to block it to avoid any surprises.
- - -
Gadgets Now: Elon Musk needs people to beta test Tesla's autonomous-driving cars.
Earlier this year [Tesla] reportedly sought hundreds of employees to test its full-driving system and offered free Autopilot upgrade with new purchases.
- - -

Ford "Super Duty"

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Tech News

Slashgear - Washington Redskins nix Huawei deal over privacy concerns:
...a new report claims [the deal was killed] due to government prodding. According to sources, officials were concerned about Huawei installing WiFi service in Washington, DC. 
- - -
SC Mag15 DDoS-for-hite sites shut down by FBI:
Authorities charged Matthew Gatrel, 30, of St. Charles, Ill, and Juan Martinez, 25, of Pasadena, Calif., with conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act through the operation of their DDoS-for-hire services sites known as Down them and Ampnode.

According to the release, Downthem’s database showed over 2000 customer subscriptions, and had been used to conduct, or attempt to conduct, over 200,000 DDoS attacks which were carried out between October 2014 and November 2018.
- - -
SlashgearWin 10 fix hurting Lenovo lap tops.

BetaNews: A generally positive review of Win 11.

Jolt: Chrome exploit causing crashes in Win 10.
- - -
Nextgov: Cali court finds First Amendment Rights not necessarily protected in social media.
- - -
The Next Web: 2018: year of the fabled Linux desktop.

It's Foss: Why Linux hasn't succeeded as a desktop, by Linux creator Linus Torvalds.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Top 20 most-popular stories of 2018 from Ars Technia

Have at it. A few winners:
It took seven miles to pull over a Tesla with a seemingly asleep driver.

Gmail.com redesign leaks, looks pretty incredible. (No, it doesn't. Gmail sucks. That's a 5,000-word, well, 4,995-word, post I'll never write.)

Elon Musk built a “submarine” to rescue Thailand kids—here’s what it looks like.
Study: people tend to cluster into four distinct personality “types”.
Yes, we all need to work at being more "cluster-diverse."

I don't recall ever seeing, until now, the Musk sub.

 Musk rescue sub.

Which stories do you think were important in 2018?

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas

While He gave his life for all of our sins, it is not the most grievous sins that we are forgiven that amazes me. He gave his life for the least of our sins.


Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas.

Monday, December 24, 2018

Ave Maria

Santa is Delivering!

Check out NORAD. Santa is on the way - and he moves really fast.

Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia Chucky

Still time to get one in time for Christmas at all fine retailers.

Santa on NORAD. Government Shutdown Can't Stop Santa

The government shutdown won't affect NORAD from following Santa on his deliveries. Which begs the question, is there anyone our government doesn't track?


Check the NORAD site later tonight. It's actually kind of fun to watch. And the kids will love it.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Retro Christmas TV Commercial

The narrator...whose voice is that? I recognize it, can't put a name to it. Anyone?

Retro Christmas TV Commercial

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Retro Christmas TV Commercial

Schumer, Patron Saint of Taxpayers

Thank you Cluck, for "saving us" that hefty $ 5 Billion. But spending over $ 1.2 Trillion? Cluck did not vote to save us from that. He favored it.

Think the shutdown will affect Trump? Think again. The Jeff Bezos Peoples' Republic:
Both history and current politics are on Trump’s side in this standoff. There’s no reason he shouldn’t dig in for the holiday season and wait for the Democrats to offer a compromise he can live with.
Dig in, President Trump. Dig in!

Some good shutdown memes making the rounds.

So, We're Closed?

At least partially.

Denver Post: Limited Federal Services.

AP: Shutdown to drag into Christmas.

SMH: Shutdown could last until Thursday.

Border Wall Battle in the Senate

Cluck Schumer is giving his sanctimonious best. Watch him live before he STFU.


Shut it down. Fuck Cluck.

NHL Saturday, December 22; Quick Recap December 21 Games

Quote: Herb Brooks

14 games on tap for today and tonight, starting at noon and going all day and evening though 9PM-plus.

No predictions, too much work in keeping track of that many games.

Last night's games final scores:
NJ 5 - Ottawa 2
Washington 2 - Buffalo 1
Chicago 2 - Colorado 1

My predictions:
NJ 3 - Ottawa 2
Washington 4 - Buffalo 2
Chicago 2 - Colorado 3

No accuracy on the final scores, but I did pick two out of three winning teams.

NJ beating the Sens 5 - 2 was surprising considering the Devils have been fighting their bottom or "next-to-bottom" ranking in the Metro division. They're a better team than where they're at. NJ has five months to improve.

I thought the Caps-Sabres games would be a higher scoring game, both teams played well but the reigning Cup Champions (Washington) are likely playing to win the Cup again next year. Barring injuries, the Caps will be strong all season.

The Avalanche-Hawks also a good game. It really could have gone either way. Chicago go their defensive game going last night and despite some flaws, managed to keep that 1 goal edge and take the win away from Colorado.

14 games today. That's Christmas for me.

World News

Sky News: Partial U.S. Government shutdown looms.

BBC: Government shutdown looms.
- - -
Brexit could impact Britons dietary expectations. AFP:
Perishable goods, such as vegetables from the Netherlands or fruit from Spain, could be held up at the border, if tough checks are imposed or the EU limits trade, said the report.
- - -
AFPCanada and US call for release of two Canadians detained in China.
- - -
FOX News: Parents of Otto Warmbier seek $1 Billion from North Korea.
- - -
The Guardian: Two suspects held in Gatwick airport drone incident.

ITV News: Two arrested in Gatwick airport drone incident.
- - -
CBCBritish Columbia cities shakedown oil companies for climate change costs.