World News

Japan Today - Theresa May survives; Brexit still teeters:

...200 Conservative lawmakers voted in support of May as leader, 117 dissented, indicating opposition not only from several dozen supporters of a hard Brexit but also from many more pragmatic lawmakers - and signalling that she was no nearer to passing her EU divorce agreement.

- - -
Singapore Straits Times -  China to reduce auto tariffs; buy more soy:

...the moves by Beijing will "prove that President Trump was right when he announced his summary of the talks" held recently with China's President Xi Jinping, [said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross].

- - -
The Local (FR) - Photo of suspect Cherif Chekatt, Strasbourg gunman:

French police tweeted out a public appeal for help in hunting down the gunman. Members of the public are warned not to approach "the dangerous individual" but to alert authorities[.]

Cherif Chekatt. Photo: Police Nationale

France24 live coverage.

TASS - Russia calls Strasbourg "act of terror."

"Recent events once again prove that it is necessary to promptly join efforts of the entire international community facing a threat of terrorism," the foreign ministry said.

- - -

Italy News Net - Pope removes two scandalous cardinals.

- - -

Italian Narco King captured in Argentina after eight year manhunt. Daily Mail:

Giancarlo Massidda was nabbed during a raid in the Buenos Aires city of Berazategui on Tuesday. [.]

... Massidda had been living in the area under a false identity after he escaped from Italy in 2010 while under house arrest.

It is unknown how long he was living in the South American country.

- - -
DW - Germany inks big lithium deal with Bolivia: 

Lithium deposits hidden below Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat are believed to be the largest in the world. On Wednesday, Germany's privately owned ACI Systems agreed to a partnership with Bolivian state company YLB to exploit the element.

Lithium. The new petrol. I couldn't find any sites advocated for keeping lithium in the ground.
- - -
RT: Migrants at border want $50K from U.S. to go home.

Two groups of Central American migrants, a fraction of the 7,000-strong human tide that massed at the border during US elections, are demanding speedy approval of their asylum claims – or $50,000 to go home.

Good luck with that. Drop a note and let us know how it turns out.
- - -
Asia News - Japan approves tech that will allow jamming hostile satellites:

The new national defense guidelines are characterized as reinforcement of counter-capabilities in new domains including space, cyberspace and electromagnetic waves. 

Tax Texting

California considers text tax. CBS News:

...texting may soon come with an extra fee on their mobile phone bills. State regulators are weighing a tax on text messaging to help fund a program that makes phone service available to low-income residents.
[.]
A texting surcharge could help sustain the Public Purpose Program budget, which has risen to $998 million in 2017 from $670 million in 2011, according to a report from the California Public Utilities Commission. Revenue from the telecom industry that funds the program has declined to $11.3 billion last year from $16.5 billion in 2011, the CPUC report stated.
[.]
The California Chamber of Commerce and other trade organizations estimate the proposed fee could cost wireless customers $44.5 million a year, according to the Mercury News in San Jose, Calif.

Yes, PLEASE GOD YES, PASS THIS TEXT TAX. I'm all for it. It has my FULL SUPPORT.

A comment that this tax could be regressive to five years.USA MacPaper:

    People need to realize that the proposed California texting tax could go back and tax you on text messages sent the past 5 years.

    Imagine getting a tax bill for all text messages you've sent since 2013.
    — 🇺🇸🍻 Mark 🍻🇺🇸 (@BartenderMB) December 12, 2018

May I suggest it go back TEN YEARS and whatever the amount being considered for the tax - PLEASE TRIPLE IT !

I SUPPORT THE BIKE TAX, THE FAT TAX, THE SUGAR TAX, THE BIG-GULP SODA TAX, THE CALORIE TAX, THE TEXT TAX, THE WALKING TAX, THE BREATHING TAX, THE BLINKING TAX AND THE TAX TAX.

The text tax is Liberalism coming back to bite Liberalism in the ass. I love it when that happens.

Let the Millennials and Gen Z's get accustomed to the pain of over-taxation. Besides, it's for the Public Good, and how can anyone be against the общественная польза?

World News

ITV - Four dead in Strasbourg shooting; search for 'extremist' gunman:

A suspected extremist is on the run after a shooting which left four people dead near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg.

French authorities have launched a terror investigation into the shooting, which left several others injured, some seriously.

The 29-year-old alleged gunman has a criminal record and, according to the prefect of the Strasbourg region, was known by the security services as a suspected extremist.

France 24 - Live coverage

MEPs stranded. France 24:

The European Parliament in Strasbourg was under lockdown late Tuesday after a deadly shooting near a Christmas market rocked the eastern French city, shocking and stranding hundreds of MEPs, staff and officials.

ISIS celebrates Strasbourg shooting. The Express:

No terrorist group has officially claimed responsibility yet, but ISIS supporters have boasted the attack happened just “days after our threats.”

- - -
Detained Huawei exec granted bail - The International News: 

A Canadian judge granted bail Tuesday [Meng Wanzhou,] a top Huawei executive after her arrest on a US warrant, in a case that has frayed relations between the North American allies and China.

[She] is is wanted by US authorities for violating Iran sanctions but Beijing has expressed outrage over her detention and is holding a former Canadian diplomat in China, intensifying the row.

Hong Kong Free Press: China detains Canadian, believed to be former diplomat:

“We are aware of the situation of a Canadian detained in China. We have been in direct contact with the Chinese,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, adding that Ottawa was taking his arrest “very seriously.”

- - -
These are the...

Sky News: Theresa May on brink of leadership challenge.

Web Financial Group - May tours "like a child":

May toured European capitals like a child presenting a parent with a new toy broken on Christmas morning. She gained plenty of sympathy but also stern reminder that there would be no renegotiation or quick fixes.

ITV: May fights, critics circle.

Aspen Daily News: May heads to Ireland.

The Irish Times: Ireland "collateral damage" in Brexit.

New Statesman: May in Tory Trouble.

- - -
China.org: Church shooting in Brazil leaves five dead.
- - -
Stuff (NZ/AU)- Bodies scattered, truck veers into pedestrians.

Police were told the truck, carrying bricks, was travelling south on Botany Road when it veered into northbound lanes before hitting a power pole, a bus stop, a building and pedestrians.

- - -
The Independent (IE) - A street paved with milk chocolate:

...a tonne of chocolate flowed out of a factory and solidified.
[.]
After hitting the chilly pavement, the milk chocolate quickly hardened.

Emoji has different meanings in different cultures

Here we go.

The next agenda for HR departments around the world will be employee training for Emoji - "sensitivity". From 'da BBC:

...emojis do not and cannot by themselves constitute a meaningful code of communication between two parties.

So, back to acronyms we go. WTF? STFU!

Tech News

Tech Radar: How DOOM changed PC gaming 25 years ago.

...despite its age, this dusty old relic lives on every shooter that’s come and gone since. Every single First Person Shooter that’s taken over the world – or failed miserably – can doff its cap to Id Software’s seminal piece of software.

 - - -

Technocracy: Robert Mueller, Technocrat Operative?

I don’t think I witnessed anything more anti-democratic, anti-freedom, and anti-everything I always thought America stood for than the actions of the MuelIer Special Counsel. I always thought entrapment was a crime.

- - -
PC Mag: Google+ shutting down earlier than planned.

On Monday, the Web giant revealed it recently discovered a new bug, which may have exposed the personal information of 52.5 million Google+ users.
[.]
In addition, "apps with access to a user's Google+ profile data also had access to the profile data that had been shared with the consenting user by another Google+ user but that was not shared publicly," wrote G Suite VP of Product Management David Thacker.

- - -
C|Net - Europe has tech companies under a microscope:

Whenever a Silicon Valley company makes a move, the EU is watching over its shoulder to make sure it's abiding by local laws, providing the best possible experience for European citizens and taking full responsibility for its mistakes.

- - -
IT ProPortal - UK NHS will stop using "absurd" fax machines:

The NHS has been ordered to get rid of its fax devices, and advised that they be replaced by email.

- - -

Tech Xplore - Detecting unreliable Facebook pages:

Detecting and identifying unreliable pages is of key importance, as it might help to warn users and reduce malicious activity on the platform.

- - -
ArsTechnia - Win Installer Build upgrades Notepad:

Notepad is also going to support a convention that's literally decades old: when the currently loaded file has been modified, an asterisk will be shown in the title bar.

- - -
Wish I would've thought of this: TechEBlog - Column-climbers: 

This shoe attachment basically turns a steel column into a ladder, or in other words, it securely grips the flanges of the column, thanks to its high strength 514 steel construction. They’re so strong, that they can hold up to 700 pounds per foot.

- - -
The name Uniblue ring a bell?, if not, how about RegistryBooster? BetaNews:

Users started to realize that they were being warned that their system always had errors.
[.]
An individual cottoned on to the fact that this was bogus software as a brand new out-of-the-box PC would be deemed to have "errors that need fixing" even after the first boot. Indeed, someone proved you could install a fresh copy of Windows, with no third-party software, install RegistryBooster and it would still claim your system had errors.

Uniblue is closing for good. Good.
- - -
Typo fixed 12/12/2018

World News

Brexit on, off, or?

The Express: Second Referendum planned to save Brexit.

Daily Mail: Lib Dem says Brexit won't happen. Or,  'hell of a backlash'.

ING: It's A Mess.

DW: May warns of risk if no Brexit.

Business Standard: Brexit defeat could topple UK.

The Irish Times: Psychologists try to make sense of Brexit.

- - -

UNIAN: Russian inference in "yellow jacket" protests probe opens.

The Mirror: Macron apologizes, "I'm sorry," to nation.

President Emmanuel Macron will deliver an 'I'm sorry' TV address and announce further tax cuts after nationwide riots have rocked France.

On Sunday a Parisien newspaper reported that ‘after eight days of silence, the head of state’ has told supporters ‘he will speak on Monday night on television to respond to the angry French’.

Sky News: Over 1,700 yellow vests arrested.

The Algemeiner: Paris cleans up.

Workers in Paris swept up broken glass and towed away burnt-out cars on Sunday after the latest violent “yellow vest” protest[.]

The Irish Independent: Yellow vest protests an economic disaster for France, says finance minister.
 

- - -
BBC: Saudis refuse Turkish extradition request for Khashoggi killer suspects.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, "We do not extradite our citizens."

- - -
SCMP: Why was Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou arrested now?

Western spy agencies have long been aware of Huawei’s intelligence-gathering function, and have exploited their knowledge to feed the Chinese with misleading information in a classic “Concordski” ploy.

- - -

Times of India: Putin's daughter appears on television.

...an interview on state TV with a woman who has been described as [Putin's]  daughter.

Putin's daughter?

 - - -

The HR Director: Are you getting enough sleep? 

- - -

WTOP: Slide-show of the snowfall out east. 

- - -

SMH: HORROR STORIES from the fast food industry. 

A customer threatened to kill a shop assistant and their entire family if they refused to remake a cheeseburger that was too cold.
[.]
"It's not just fast food, it happens everywhere."
[.]
Zackary Stereff from central Queensland said he was physically abused at a fast food drive through.

"I asked for the correct money and the customer threw a black sock full of 50 cent pieces into my stomach," he said. "It left me with a bruise."

Theresa May's Brexit in Uncharted Waters

From WA Today:

Britain's Brexit minister on Sunday insists a crucial vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal would go ahead after a newspaper reported she planned to delay it to make way for a last-minute dash to Brussels to seek a better offer.

Tech News

Why driving is hard for AI. ArsTechnia:

The Society for Automotive Engineering and the US Department of Transportation specify six degrees of autonomy, running from Level 0 (human drivers in complete control) to Level 5 (a fully self-driving vehicle). The commercially available car currently considered the most autonomous—the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise—makes it to Level 2... but only on the 130,000 miles (many of them highways) that its maps know. Tesla's Autopilot mode, the name notwithstanding, is also considered Level 2. Neither of them are anything like set-and-forget systems.

- - -
Duckduckgo discovers Google personalizing searches in incognito mode and when not signed in.
BetaNews:

[The study] found that even when people searched without logging into a Google account -- or when they used private browsing mode --  "most participants saw results unique to them".

- - -
China denounces U.S. as "despicable rogue" over Huawei CFO arrest. BGR:

The Chinese government has demanded [CFO Meng Wanzhou] be released and claimed that her arrest is a potential human rights violation.

The accusations, CBC.ca:

[CFO Meng Wanzhou, 46] is wanted for extradition from Vancouver to the U.S. on allegations of fraud, including using a shell company to skirt international American sanctions over five years, court heard.

The Justice Department affidavit painted a picture of a woman with immense financial resources who had already attempted to evade U.S. arrest warrants for allegedly violating American and European Union sanctions.

It said she possesses "no fewer than seven passports from both China and Hong Kong."

The lesson here is if you're going to have seven passports, mix-up more countries. Use Luxembourg, Lithuania, Liechtenstein and Monaco. No one will question them.
- - -
If you're looking at buying a new TV, a review on Smart display models at C|Net.
- - -

Here's a rare item. MicroSoft surrenders. Computer World: 

After a years-long pummeling, Microsoft this week surrendered in the browser war, saying that it will junk Edge's home-grown rendering engine and replace it with Blink, the engine that powers Google's Chrome.

More...

RIP MS Edge. ZD Net:

Microsoft today confirmed the rumors that have been swirling all week. As part of a sweeping change to one of the flagship components of Windows 10, it will rebuild its Microsoft Edge browser from the ground up, ripping out its proprietary EdgeHTML rendering engine and replacing it with the open-source Chromium code base.

Image: ZD Net

- - -

Are you a member of Quora? Looks like it was hacked. WIRED:

In a blog post on Monday, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo admitted that Quora was breached. The company discovered the problem last Friday, and more than 100 million accounts may have had their data taken.

- - -
Expired certificate causes millions to lose Ericsson network. TechSpot:

Certificates are software keys that enable certain functionality, but they can require occasional updates so that they don’t expire, something Swedish owned telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson didn’t do.

They forgot to use a sticky-note.
- - -
Gizmodo - A free streaming service you didn't know you had. (Not Reddit?)

I want to tell you about a free streaming service that’s in many ways just as good as Filmstruck, offers Criterion films, and has at least one feature that no one else does.

Kanopy is not new, it got its start in Australia a decade ago and has slowly expanded its services around the globe.

- - -
UberGizmo: Teen electrocuted to death wearing charging headphones:

It has been suggested that you not use your headphones while they’re plugged into a phone that’s charging, or to use them if their wires are frayed and exposed.

The above never occurred to me. I'd never heard of anyone dying from this until now. Makes sense. What a way to go, geeez.
- - -
I can't quite make the stretch to classify this under Tech News, but here goes.

From The Independent:  Mom sends five-year old son to school nativity with...(plastic blowup, think adult) ...sheep doll.

Helen Cox said she had no idea what the real purpose of the product when she bought it for her son Alfie.

Yeeeaaahhhhhhhh....click the link and read the story.

 Image: The Independent.

I obscured the kid's face, I just had to. The image at the link is intact.

Teh Shopping

A couple interesting accounts of shopping that I've read. Phil writes about a day holiday shopping. Like Phil, I avoid malls like the plague. I try to avoid the busier shopping hours too, when I can. It was four weeks ago when I had had my fill of Christmas music and commercials.

Today was pretty tolerable for what I needed to get done. I was "given the choice" to either go with, or not, to one of the local, busier malls by Mrs D. She knows the answer before she asks. I had to get to a local hardware store and, ugh, Wal Mart. I drop Mrs D. in the land of the Shopping Dead, wishing her luck. She'll be there til closing, with her sister.

Wal Mart. Busy but not packed. Got there around 3PM, knew what I wanted, got it, got out by 3:30. Needed a furnace filter. They were out of the one I like, so I had to go up to the next level which was a few more dollars. Not a big deal. I couldn't find something else I was looking for so quit that. Then remembered I did have a list with me and went back to the other end of the store to get something I'd forgotten when I started out there. And you know where this is going. Got to the other end of the store when I remembered something else, not on the list, that was where I'd just been, so back across the box again. Again, not a big deal. Inside stores I navigate through the least-occupied aisles. Or try to, and that helps. Headed for self-checkout, paid cash, gone. Done.

Then, to a local hardware store, not a chain big-box. Overheard a conversation of someone unhappy with the mix of their paint color. That would be the least of my worries. Oh, but the hardware store had the Christmas Muzak on. Haven't heard enough yet. Able to get in and out in fifteen. I survived.

It's so easy paying cash at checkout. For those of you ahead of us who pay by any type of card, why don't you know by now which kind of card it is; debit or credit? And why do you waste the time of those waiting behind you in not knowing which button to press? You have a 50-50 chance of getting it right. Just fucking press one of the buttons. If it doesn't accept the charge - then PRESS the OTHER button. WTF? It can't be the FIRST TIME you're using that card. Depending on the card-reader and card type, a credit card may be debit or credit. Take a guess, make it fast, enough with the deer-in-the-headlights-look when you get the "charge-declined" beep. JUST PRESS THE OTHER FUCKING BUTTON if this happens.

I can't complain about running errands today. It can always be worse.

December 7 NHL Game Recap

My ability to predict final scores continues its historical pattern of being wildly inaccurate. I forgot to add my Disclaimer on that post, but if you're wagering anything of value on my purely speculative guesses on final scores, you need to see your doctor immediately.

The results:

Final: MN 3 - Edmonton 7
My prediction: MN 4 - Oilers 2

Final: Carolina 4 - Ducks 1
My prediction: Ducks 5 - Canes 3

Final: SJ Sharks 2 - Dallas Stars 3
My prediction: Sharks 4 - Stars 2

Final: St. Louis 1 - Winnipeg 0
My prediction: Jets 3 - Blues 1

The Oilers played an excellent game. No doubt about it, their offense was flawless. The Wild couldn't get their act together for consistency. Goalie Devan Dubnyk was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on six shots. Dubnyk is a great goalie, he had an off night. The Wild looked tired. Their desire was there but they couldn't get it to gel. The Wild had two power plays during the game, on which they did not score. Well, at least they didn't give up a goal on the power play which is a problem they still experience. Why this persists with them, I don't know.

I thought the Ducks - Hurricanes game would be tighter. I could analyze the game, but Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said it best:

"It was one of those games where nothing we seemed to try to do had any effect on it, any positive effect. It was all frustration and lack of ability to execute. They were faster, quicker, and executed to a higher rate than we did."

I watched most of the Sharks - Stars game, it being the most competitive game of the night, and it was. Stars' goalie Ben Bishop had a season-high 41 saves, which pretty much tells the story of why this game was a one point difference. Ducks Left Wing Evander Kane said of his team they were too relaxed and lacked intensity. That may be their problem, as in last season's playoffs the Sharks were two different teams on any given night. They either played as the top-notch, cohesive team they are or, they played like they've never been on ice before.

St. Louis beat the Jets 1 to 0. No one anywhere on the planet would have guessed that the bottom-ranked team would beat the third-place team in the Central Division. No one. Blues defense Colton Payrako scored the one and winning goal in the second period. A final score in any hockey game of 1 - 0 points directly to the success of the goalie, so chalk this Blues win to goalie Jake Allen's incredible performance as well as the Blues' defense. Maybe they're about to turn their game around and rise up from the bottom of the rankings.

Ten games play today. I'm not doing predictions for any of them. It's too early in the season.

December 7 NHL Games on Tap Tonight

Four games on tap tonight in the NHL.

Win/Loss follows each team.

MN vs Edmonton
Minnesota 15-11 (5th place Central) vs Edmonton 14-12 (5th place Pacific)

Ducks vs Hurricanes
Anaheim 15-10 (2nd place Pacific) vs Carolina 12-11 (6th place Metro)

Sharks at Stars
Dallas 15-10 (4th place Central) vs San Jose 14-10 (3rd place Pacific)

Blues at Jets
St. Louis 9-13 (7th place Central) vs Winnipeg 17-8 (3rd place Central)

Predictions:

MN over Edmonton, 4-2. MN lost 0-2 to Calgary last night. I'm looking for the Wild to bounce back. Edmonton beat the Blues on Wednesday 3-2, so they'll be strong.

The Ducks are on a winning streak, five in a row. They're looking for six against Carolina, also playing well, but they lost 5-1 to the Sharks Wednesday night. They might put up a tough game. This is a tough call. Caro's Center Jordan Staal is on the injury list for tonight. Ducks have momentum. Ducks 5 - Carolina 3.

The Sharks have won two in a row. They want three tonight in the Land of Southern Stars. Dallas hasn't played since Tuesday, when they beat Edmonton 4-1. Dallas is rested, maybe too rested? Sharks over Stars, 4-2.

St. Louis at Winnipeg. I'd like to see St. Louis win considering their performance has been so (ahem...) disappointing so far this year. The Jets beat the Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday; look for another Jets win here. Tonight: Jets over St. Louis, 3-1.

Check out NHL game predictions at Oddsshark. Use the menu at the top of their site to view each game analysis and prediction. Oddsshark is a fun site, for all sports, not just the NHL.

Game times and viewings are updated and available around 20-30 minutes before start time.

Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941

AZ Central: Pearl Harbor, 77 years ago:

After 77 years, the story of the mighty battleship has been told again and again: how it took heavy fire, how a bomb blew it apart, how it sank into the harbor.

Over time, other stories from the Arizona have emerged, about unsung heroes and harrowing escapes. But some stories have never been told, especially stories about the 1,177 crew members who died in the attack.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: 77 years later, families honor the dead.

Time and Date: December 7, 2018 - Pearl Harbor

The flag should be flown at half-mast to honor those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

National Today: Day of Remembrance.

From Holidays Today

The personal stories.

The Salt Lake Tribune: “It’s strange, isn’t it," Bruce Holmes said, “to be here honoring a 19-year-old kid killed 77 years ago.”

EyeWitness To History: The attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over.

Reader's Digest - A Must Read:

It has been said that when an old person dies, it is like a library burning down. For the past 75 years, I have tried to share what I remember of World War II, but a day will come when I can no longer speak. Then what will become of everything I experienced on December 7, 1941? That’s why I wrote this account.

Liberty Letters: Eyewitness account by Ruth Erickson

My heart was racing, the telephone was ringing, the chief nurse, Gertrude Arnest, was saying, "Girls, get into your uniforms at once, This is the real thing!"

I was in my room by that time changing into uniform. It was getting dusky, almost like evening. Smoke was rising from burning ships.

Bustle (from December 7, 2015) - Five Pearl Harbor Survivor Stories.

USS Arizona Pearl Harbor Memorial

More on Pearl Harbor at:

Ninety Miles From Tyranny

The Right Way

The War on Guns 

It Ain't Holy Water

The Last Tradition

Political Clown Parade

Blogodidact

This Ain't Hell

Minnesota Budget Surplus $1.5 Billion. And it's gone.

Feh, The Dems will have it spent before I'm done typing this. US News:

Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz says the projected $1.5 billion budget surplus shows a legacy of fiscal responsibility under outgoing Gov. Mark Dayton.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton Richie Rich

About that "legacy of financial responsibility" helmed by Gov Richie Rich Dayton, (scion of the abundantly wealthy Dayton family,) that's not quite right. Not even close.

A Dem gov in MN leaves office and the incoming gov-elect is a Dem. Who would expect the inherited budget be anything other than glowing and sparkling?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez upset over Tesla not giving back to taxpayers.

Her name is too many keystrokes, so from now on, she's AOC.

AOC to Tesla, "taxpayers have not seen a return on their investment." RT News:

Incoming New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking aim at that most sacred of American cows, the public-private partnership, criticizing Tesla for accepting government subsidies without giving back to the taxpayer.

“When we as a public choose to invest in new technologies, we deserve a return on that investment,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a climate change town hall event on Monday.
[.]
While Tesla has certainly benefited from government subsidies, racking up $2.4 billion as of 2016, the company does not receive nearly as much from the taxpayer as other automakers like Ford, which received $4 billion during that same time, or GM, which got $5.8 billion.

Does she remember Solyndra and other green energy failures that cost taxpayers over $2.2 billion?  Or $4 billion annually to oil companies? (It's the NYT so it has to be true).

Is anyone documenting AOC's every clouded non-sequitur statement at some site or blog? How could anyone keep up? When would you sleep? It's not possible.

Facebook Knows What's Best for You!

From The Guardian:

...confidential emails, released Wednesday by the British Parliament, reveal the hardheaded business calculations that lurked beneath the feel-good image projected by Zuckerberg and Facebook.

“That may be good for the world, but it’s not good for us,” Zuckerberg wrote in a 2012 email about the possibility that developers would build applications that used data about Facebook users and their friends, but not provide any data back to Facebook.

Zuckerberg’s assessment – that “sharing” was only valuable if people were sharing data with his company – was endorsed by Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, who responded, “I think the observation that we are trying to maximize sharing on facebook [sic], not just sharing in the world, is a critical one.” Facebook discussed cashing in on user data, emails suggest.

The emails provide an uncommon window into the thinking of Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives as they sought revenue streams amid an industry-shaking shift from desktop to mobile computing.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and Chairman

Facebook denies the allegations. TechSpot:

“Facebook have clearly entered into whitelisting agreements with certain companies, which meant that after the platform changes in 2014/15 they maintained full access to friends’ data [sic],” stated Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chairman Damian Collins[.]
[.]
Collins also points out emails that spelled out the collection of user call and text logs on Android devices. He claims Facebook went to great lengths to keep users from realizing such data was being collected from them.

“Facebook knew that the changes to its policies on the Android mobile phone system, which enabled the Facebook app to collect a record of calls and texts sent by the user would be controversial. To mitigate any bad PR, Facebook planned to make it as hard of possible for users to know that this was one of the underlying features of the upgrade of their app.”

The accusations. The Guardian:

In 2015, the company began “continuously uploading” call and text logs from Android phones, giving it a valuable window into the communications habits of its users.
[.]
Since 2013, the company has used a VPN app it acquired, named Onavo, to harvest information about app usage on iPhones. By funnelling all internet usage on those phones through Facebook’s servers, it could be forewarned about popular apps, and take pre-emptive action against possible competition.
[.]
Even though it clamped down on apps accessing user data in 2015, Facebook offered continued access to that data to a small number of large companies, including Netflix, Lyft and Airbnb.

Michelle Obama daydreams at funeral of George H.W. Bush

Is Michelle Obama thinking about her $65 million++ book deal during the funeral services for former U.S. President George H.W. Bush?

Image: CNN from Daily Mail

Hillary appears to be unhappy. Well, when isn't she?

Super cereal Al Gore masquerading as Greta, a 15-year old girl.

Okay, the Rectal Thermometer of the Word, Albert Gore, Junior, (I hear he invented the internet and he once was the vice president of the United States, but I can't confirm either one), isn't really masquerading as a 15-year old girl named Greta. But this story is so enjoyable. A 15-year old girl sounds just like every adult Liberal Global Warming Alarmist. Or, is that every adult Liberal Global Warming Alarmist sounds just like a 15-year old girl?

From Common Dreams: (Yeah, I know...I'll give you time to stop laughing, "CD", heh no bias there.....)

Headline: "We Have Not Come Here to Beg World Leaders to Care,' 15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Tells COP24. 'We Have Come to Let Them Know Change Is Coming".

"Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago," said Thunberg, who has garnered international notoriety for weekly climate strikes outside her school in Sweden, during a speech on Monday.
[.]
Thunberg explained that while the world consumes an estimated 100 million barrels of oil each day, "there are no politics to change that. There are no politics to keep that oil in the ground. So we can longer save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed."

Sounds just like a fifteen year old adult Liberal Global Warming Alarmist.

Speaking of The Rectal Thermometer of The World, here's a quote from Greta Albert Gore, Junior. WBUR:

[WBUR]:  On what he [Albert Gore, Junior] thought when he saw there was another recount in Florida this year, nearly two decades after the recount there during the 2000 presidential election

[Gore]: "How do you spell PTSD, boys and girls? I got lots of emails and phone calls from close friends in Florida who certainly told me that it was not a happy experience to go through. And more seriously, it is truly astonishing that after 18 years, they have not been able to come up with a system that is more reliable and more honest. It also should be shocking to all of us as Americans that voter suppression is still being pursued relentlessly by Republican operatives and officeholders like the former secretary of state of Georgia, and in Mississippi and in many places — that's just un-American and it's time for that to stop."

Sound just like...a fifteen year old child Albert Gore, Junior.

Will you be tuning in The Albert Gore, Junior, 24-hour Global Warming Alarmathon? Probably a comedy goldmine.

Manbearpig  ... we didn't listen...we didn't listen!

Because you haven't heard enough about Brexit

UK News front page Brexit "humiliation on a historic scale." The The Guardian:

Front pages paint a grim picture of Theresa May’s horror day in parliament

Grim. Nice of them in describing it so kindly.

UK front page composite: The Guardian

Seattle Gets an NHL Team

What will the team name be? The Seattle Antifa?

New NHL expansion team in Seattle. CBS News:

Seattle is getting its own National Hockey League team, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 32. The unnamed team is expected to hit the ice in 2021-2022 to allow for arena renovations, the league announced Tuesday.

Millennials Can't Open Tuna Fish Can

Millennials can't, or won't, open canned tuna - San Jose Mercury News:

"Many can’t be bothered to open and drain the cans, or fetch utensils and dishes to eat the tuna,” Jesse Newman and Annie Gasparro wrote.
[.]
“A lot of millennials don’t even own can openers,” [said] Andy Mecs, vice president of marketing and innovation for Pittsburgh-based StarKist.
[.]
“Ah yes, millennials are abandoning canned tuna because we’re lazy and not because uh, it’s gross as hell,” said Jamelle Bouie, Slate’s chief political correspondent tweeted.
[.]
Here’s an alternate theory: Maybe millennials aren’t eating as much tuna because they grew up learning about how dolphins — the magical creatures of their Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers — were often killed when they became trapped in tuna nets? Or maybe it’s because they’re a health-conscious generation that worries about mercury poisoning? Or maybe it’s because it’s a generation that cares about the environment and struggles with the level of tuna overfishing?

Or maybe it's because millenials are dim-witted lazy fuckers who are waiting for a government sponsored program from their beloved "State" that will assist them in solving the incredibly daunting task of opening a can with a can opener.

I find the most startling sentence from the San Jose story is that Slate has a "Chief Political Correspondent". Who knew? I always figured Slate vomited Alpha-Bits cereal until the letters formed words and boom, there's their story. No?

I think it's time for a new millennial child's doll that says, "Can openers are tough," just like Barbie and math class.

Millennials can't or won't use a can opener. But they can operate a machine and obtain ingredients that will spit out their double-mocha, sun-dried vanilla bean, organic banana, sugar-free, caramel-drizzle, fiber powder, ginger-cinnamon-hazelnut, gluten-free, free-range honey, Himalayan Yoga sea salt, steamed soy/rice milk, no whipped cream, one Sweet'n Low, decaf coffee in a sustainable cup.

"Can openers are tough!"

Who's "wiping" millennials? If a can opener is foreign to them, the item below must be confoundedly perplexing. But wait...soon there will be an "app" for this:

The future, with Millennials, looks bright, doesn't it?

December's Boring NHL Post

EDIT: I wrote this 4 hours ago, something came up, didn't get around to publishing it until now.

Time to check the NHL. I know all one of my hockey reader might appreciate this post. /sarcasm

We're 20-25 games into a 82-game season. Much can change over that time.

There's been some shuffling in each division since my update of 9, October 2018. Let's take a look.

ATLANTIC: TBay made adjustments and leaped from third from the bottom to the number one team. They shut-down the Sabres 10-game winning streak. TBay's jump tapped down Boston who tapped down Montreal.

The Red Wings, Florida, and Ottawa retain their lower four positions. I've watched a few Detroit games where they've lost. The seem slow. Haven't caught a Panthers or Sens game, no idea what's going on with them. Leave a comment if you do. Despite the Red Wings performance, they are the Red Wings - they can never be underestimated or dismissed.

METRO: 2018 Stanley Cup Winner, The Caps,  The Caps, back on top from seated third on October 9. They bounced down a bit, then rebounded. Seems they got their skate on. Same for Columbus. There's this look in the eyes of Columbus, the look of, "we're winning The Cup."  Other shuffling back and forth with the Islanders, Devils, Carolina, Rangers and Philadelphia...and Pittsburgh? They have fifty some games to bounce back.

 

CENTRAL: Nashville's honed their game back into the playoff foe they have been and the previous Cup-winning team they're known for. Sorry to end that with a preposition. Chicago? I've watched a couple Blackhawks games. They won. Don't know why they slumped. Colorado sits in a good spot, they're usually a consistent and formidable team season after season. Dallas dropped. Winnipeg bounced upwards. The Wild are in a good spot and playing well. Haven't watched a St. Louis game - something is obviously lacking with their game.

PACIFIC: Working from the bottom up, watched a couple Kings game. Have to agree with a relative who said they lack speed. They do. Same relative, they also need some younger players. Yeah, they do. They have the "bodies". They always have. Haven't seen a Coyotes game, but Arizona has been troubled for a few seasons. Had a few decent draft picks over the past few seasons. Their coach, Rick Tocchet, is no neophyte. We''ll see what develops. Haven't seen a Vancouver game. Edmonton maintains. San Jose is in a good place. The Ducks back to quacking (sorry) ice, Calgary doing things right and two-year old Vegas sits at third.

Plenty of games tonight.

Happy Hockey!

Are you Evacuating Properly?

Have we been doing it incorrectly all these years? The Week:

...the Squatty Potty, a transportable plastic step that sits at the base of the toilet, elevating the user’s legs into a more squat-like position, to provide “the best poop of your life, guaranteed”, according to its US-based makers.

I'll wait for the deluxe version that's in the works.

Flush...

Bob Mueller Family Circus

Inspiration: Bil Keane

Keep looking...Bob.

Psychology Experts Analyze First Lady Melania Trump's Red Christmas Trees

Well, this didn't long. From The Guardian:

Dr Toby Israel, a pioneer of design psychology, said the heavily red set-up detaches viewers from nature, thus the psychological comfort associated with the natural world.
[.]
“By going against that tradition, the red trees ‘disrupt’ what we think of as the meaning of Christmas; the familiarity, the comfort, the easing of stress and uncertainty, the respite from the rush of events,” [said Dr Susan Painter, a founder of design psychology].
[.]
Dr Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, [said], “there’s nothing really natural” about these red trees. “The low-level fractal structure in things is still there, but the color is completely artificial – so everybody knows it’s artificial.”

Thanks for pointing out we don't have to ask ourselves if these red trees are "real", Doc. WTF?

I like the red trees.

Image: Leah Millis/Reuters

Gmail stops Smart Compose due to gender bias

Gender bias...in Gmail Smart Compose. No one saw this coming. Mashable:

[A] researcher noticed that Smart Compose was assigning gendered pronouns in a way that mirrored some real-world gender bias: It automatically ascribed a "him" pronoun to a person only previously described as an "investor." In other words, it assumed that the investor — a role in a largely male-dominated field — was a man.

Studies show that in language, gender bias — or assuming someone's [sic] gender based on stereotypes or tendencies associated with men or women — has the power to both "perpetuate and reproduce" bias in the way people treat each other, and the way we think of ourselves.

"Gender-biased language is harmful because it limits all of us," Toni Van Pelt, the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) said. "If a woman is using AI, and it refers to an engineer as a 'him,' it may get in her brain that only men make good engineers. ("Math class is tough," - Barbie).  It limits our scope of dreaming. That’s why it sets us back so far."  (I can't be the only one thinking Toni has way too much time on her its hands? - Drake)

    ❌mankind ✔️humankind
    ❌businessmen ✔️representatives
    ❌congressman ✔️legislator
    ...
    Use your language to fight gender bias with gender-neutral expressions! Find out about #GenderTerm: https://t.co/GtVRz8vX37 pic.twitter.com/6wO2YQpZ1Y

    — UN Women (@UN_ Women) May 26, 2018

Gmail reportedly attempted several fixes for its own subtle gender bias, but none of them were perfect. So the Smart Compose architects decided the best solution was to remove pronoun suggestions altogether.

We can presume NOW will change the last word of their organization to something gender-neutral, right? Not doing that would be kinda hypocritical, wouldn't it? And they wouldn't be hypocrites, would they?

❌ Women ✔️ ??????

Image: Ali Express