DISCOURAGING: Comcast Customer Email Accounts to Yahoo Mail

Monday, August 11, 2025

https://cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-is-shutting-down-its-email-service-moving-customer-email-accounts-to-yahoo-mail/

Comcast is Shutting Down Its Email Service & Moving Customer Email Accounts to Yahoo Mail
By Luke Bouma on August 2, 2025

*** begin quote ***

In a significant change, Comcast has announced plans to transition all Comcast.net email accounts from its current Xfinity Email platform to the Yahoo Mail platform. The announcement, detailed in an email sent to customers on August 2, 2025, outlines a phased migration set to occur over the next several months, promising improved functionality and advanced features for its users.

According to the email from Comcast, the shift to Yahoo Mail will provide customers with a “premium email solution” designed to streamline communication and organization. Yahoo Mail’s AI-driven inbox management, robust security features, integrated calendar, and highly rated mobile app were highlighted as key benefits of the transition. Importantly, Comcast assured customers that their existing Comcast.net email addresses, along with all messages, folders, and contacts, will remain intact during the move.

*** end quote ***

FYI Yahoo is primarily owned by Apollo Global Management, which holds a 90% stake, while Verizon retains a 10% ownership. The company operates as a standalone entity under the name Yahoo! Inc. Apollo Global Management is a private equity firm that bought AOL and Yahoo from Verizon. 

Way back when I was first reinkefj@att.net and later when I became reinkefj@comcast.net (Are you detecting a pattern here?). I advise family, frends, and basically anyone who would listen that this “free” email was a lock-in so you could never change ISPs. A quick scan of the Reinke Faces Life blog will show you my griping back in 2010.

May I suggest that you have your own domain? The common wisdom, or is that common whizdumb, is to own your own name as a domain name. I own “reinke.cc”. (I like saying “sea sea me at reinke.cc”! me@reinke.cc will actually work!) 

It gives one quite a bit of control. And, it’s very cheap. I know three solutions: wordpressdotcom with gmail, email only with 1and1, and domain+email+webspace also at 1and1. 

My point is not that you should use 1and1. http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=9113251 I could care less which one you use. It’s that getting on to your own domain with email is cheap and easy. 

And, it’s not aol, hotmail, yahoo, or gmail. It IS your own “personal brand”. And, the “bad guys” can’t fool you!

P.S.: 1and1 is now IONOS.

Let’s look over the Google Graveyard for all the vendors who have passed away with our data.

  • Google Graveyard: Google groups, Google Short Links;
  • Yahoo took down: Yahoo! Briefcase on March 30, 2009 and Yahoo! Groups before that;
  • AT&T ASHcan contains: AT&T Locker, AT&T Photos, and AT&T.net email;
  • Amazon “Sunseted”: Dash and other buttons, and the Amazon product wand;
  • Mozilla did the old Pocket-punt;
  • Microsoft wants you to forget HealthVault and Docs.com file-sharing;
  • CARDSCAN was acquired by Rubber Maid and went down shortly after that;
  • And FINALLY Plaxo, the cardscan replacement, that also disappeared. 

Never mind all the hardware devices that were given the heave ho after being bought by suckers like me.

Soooooo, under the heading of “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!”, I’d urge you to take firm control of your choices.  If your data goes in, then ask how does it come out?”  If the answer is not obvious, then tread carefully the data you save may be your own.

Argh!

— 30 —

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: “Civil society” isn’t getting any more “civilized”!

Friday, August 8, 2025

https://www.lifenews.com/2025/07/21/canada-plans-to-euthanize-15-million-people-in-the-next-20-years/

Canada Plans to Euthanize 15 Million People in the Next 20 Years
International | Bobby Schindler | Jul 21, 2025 | 9:44AM | Ottawa, Canada 

*** begin quote ***

In a recent video, Kelsi Sheren, a Canadian combat veteran, host of The Kelsi Sheren Perspective, and an outspoken opponent of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) policies, shared how Canada’s government-controlled healthcare system plans to euthanize an estimated 15 million Canadians between 2027 and 2047, a staggering figure justified under the pretext of cost savings.

*** and ***

What often goes unnoticed, however, is that existing U.S. healthcare policies are already enabling the quiet killing of vulnerable Americans – not through legalized suicide, but through hospital protocols and policies that deny care, withdraw treatment, or subtly hasten death.

*** end quote ***

As gun-owning pro-life pro-choice little L libertarian, I am not surprised that a “culture of death” has overwhelmed the morality of “We, The Sheeple”.  Abortion has desensitized us to mass murder.  The worst serial killer, school shooter, or crazy killer nurse can not come near the body count of today’s politicians and bureaucrats. Recently, Secretary RFK jr has comet against organ donations from living donors that will kill the “donor”.  To me, that’s just murder.

Unless “We, The Sheeple” react strongly and punish the “enablers” of these horrific killings, it’s only going to get worse.  Already, people are revoking the organ donor choice on their driver’s license (another insult to liberty).  And is anyone surprised?

The Catholic Church has completely lost its “moral authority” by pedophilia, financial mismanagement, liberal “theology”, “climate change”, illegal immigration, and a vast number of “political issues”.  

Shame is, “We, The Sheeple” could use a beacon of “moral authority” today!

— 30 —

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: Whistle pet trackers to IoT graveyard

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/07/acquisition-sends-thousands-of-whistle-pet-trackers-to-iot-graveyard/

Acquisition sends thousands of Whistle pet trackers to IoT graveyard

  • Whistle pet monitors will stop working on August 31.

Scharon Harding – Jul 29, 2025 1:38 PM |

*** begin quote ***

Whistle pet trackers are headed to the Internet of Things (IoT) graveyard. After releasing its first product in 2013, the Seattle-based Whistle has just been acquired by a competitor that has decided to brick all of Whistle’s smart GPS and activity monitors.

Tractive, an Austrian company that has also been selling Internet-connected GPS trackers for pets since 2013, on Monday announced its acquisition of Whistle from Mars Petcare, as spotted by The Verge. Mars Petcare is the pet food subsidiary of Mars Inc (which also makes candies like M&M’s), and it acquired Whistle in 2016 for $117 million.

*** end quote ***

Where is the “consumer protection”?  I won’t be buying M&M’s anytime soon.  This is a complete betrayal of loyal customers.  

Wonder if we will see any litigation as a result? 

Anyone wonder what the Gooferment at any level is stepping up to enforce Customer’s interests?

If not, why are they there?

Argh!

Google Graveyard, AT&T Ashcan, Amazon depreciation, … … or <synonym for the act of procreation> you! … … shrinkflation.

As they say on Wall Street, there is always a “counter party risk”.  Or in layman’s terms: “Life time guarantee  —  but whose lifetime?”

— 30 —

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: My favorite topics — only vet vote, end the income tax, end direct election of Senators, and make more memebers of the House

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Remember Heinlein’s Starship Troopers’ universe? One does not merely have the right to be a citizen and vote by virtue of what Heinlein called the mere accident of birth; rather, one has to earn this right through Federal Service that tested one’s ability and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good of the polity. Bet not a lot of vets would vote for all the undeclared wars the USA has been in since WW2?

And, my many posts about repealing the 16th (income tax) and 17th (direct election of Senators) Amendments. 

Go back to funding the Federal Gooferment with tariffs and excise taxes.  If the Federal Gooferment needs more money then let it ASK the State Gooferment to impose a sales tax and forward the money to the Federal Gooferment!

Return the power to select Senators to the State Legislatures as the Dead Old White Guys designed it.  As a State’s check on Federal power.  Restore it and get the money out of elections and politics.  Too many carpet baggers buying their Senate seats.

And, how about creating more Representatives in the House? What was the representation ratio in the House when the Union was formed? One per some number of citizens in the thousands.  With technology today, it can be a virtual meeting.  With a population of 350,000,000, we can set the number of Representatives at 3500 (one per hundred thousand). Guess these folks never heard of Zoom calls.  We don’t need politicians and bureaucrats in DC where they can conspire easily about how to oppress us. Argh!

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: Air Traffic Control is a national disgrace — privatize it now

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/1-2-trillion-later-and-air-traffic-control-is-still-using-floppy-disks-152992/?inf_contact_key=377b13c49cad6e587c923ea16fe66eae0f4081204f40fabd44f4788ebf57ced1

$1.2 Trillion Later, and Air Traffic Control is Still Using Floppy Disks
    by James Hickman
    on June 18, 2025

*** begin quote ***

In 1988, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico named Joseph Tainter published a book called The Collapse of Complex Societies.

Now, “collapse” is a strong word that conjures images of apocalyptic scenarios… Mad Max or Hunger Games drama. But that’s not what Tainter intended.

He uses the term ‘collapse’ in its academic, anthropological meaning, i.e. a breakdown of strength and order in society. In fact Tainter’s entire career has been devoted to investigating how large, sophisticated civilizations throughout history ultimately “collapsed”.

I first read Tainter’s book more than 15 years ago. And, even though it is a work of anthropology, it is, in my opinion, one of the best books on economic history ever produced.

From the Roman Empire to the Mayan people, Tainter explores how civilizations are born, grow, peak, and decay… and how, more often than not, the decay phase is a direct result of failed government or leadership.

*** and ***

Floppy disks were removable storage technology that were prevalent in home computers in the 1980s… sort of like a USB memory stick, only MUCH slower and with a fraction of the storage capacity.

A typical 3.5” floppy disk could only hold 1.44 megabytes of data, i.e. not even enough to store even a single photo from your mobile phone’s camera.

Yet this is the technology that America’s air traffic controllers still have to use… because the Transportation Department thought it was a better idea to spend billions of dollars on a handful of electric vehicle charging stations.

*** end quote ***

ATC (Air Traffic Control) is a national disgrace.  Time to privatize this essential function.

Real simple.  The airlines use it every day.  They should run it.  Bet the infrastructure would be state of the art.  Matching the plane’s controls. 

Transition to the private function would be easy  — you fly in the USA airspace then you get to buy in.  

Same with th airports!  You use, you pay, and you get a share of the decision making.  The more you pay the bigger your vote.

I bet the airplane manufacturers and the drone makers would want to buy in too.  Anything to escape the politicians and bureaucrats meddling in technical decisions!

Since the current system is on the verge of “collapse”, why not try something “radical”? The free market solution!

#privatizetheFAA #endtheFAA

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

https://developers.googleblog.com/en/google-url-shortener-links-will-no-longer-be-available/

Nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy . . . literally, “not my circus, not my monkey;” figuratively, “not my problem.” — Polish saying

 I guess monkeys are “problems” in Poland, and circuses are where “problems” come from. If it’s not your monkey, and it’s not even from your circus, then it’s not your problem. — https://goo.gl/X7VEKG

# – # – # – # – # 

Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available

JULY 18, 2024

*** begin quote ***

In 2018, we announced the deprecation and transition of Google URL Shortener because of the changes we’ve seen in how people find content on the internet, and the number of new popular URL shortening services that emerged in that time. This meant that we no longer accepted new URLs to shorten but that we would continue serving existing URLs.

*** end quote ***

Once again a demonstration of the Internet axiom, “If you’re not paying of a product, then you are the PRODUCT.”  Sometimes even if you are paying, it still gets “deprecated”  —  a fancy word for “FU, we don’t need you”! For example, Pocket from Mozilla.  In this case, a service is disappearing.  

https://umatechnology.org/what-does-it-mean-when-an-app-gets-sherlocked-by-apple/

Being “Sherlocked” is a term that encapsulates the dramatic and often ruthless dynamics between smaller developers and larger tech companies like Apple. It serves as a reminder of how innovation and competition can shape the tech landscape, sometimes to the detriment of those who initially paved the way.

Not just APPLE, but GOOGLE and MICROSOFT do it as well.  Without the decency of acquiring the original developer.  Not that “guaranties” the product or service will survive. Some are acquired to kill the competition.

There is no doubt in my mind that Google intended to SHERLOCK BITLY (https://bitly.com/pages/products/url-shortener) but for whatever reason they decided not to.  I suspect that there was not margin in it for Google.  So after “pushing” it, like so many other GOOGLE “products and services” they give it the FU treatment and  “deprecate” it.

Sad for the Users who used it and good for BITLY.

And, for anyone who still “trusts” Gooferment to be a fair referee with respect to anti-trust issues, why do you think “corporations” “contribute” aka payoff politicians and bureaucrats?

Now I have to go and replace all “goo.gl” uses in my blog.  Argh!

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: Pocket shutting down

Sunday, June 1, 2025

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/future-of-pocket

Pocket is saying goodbye – What you need to know
Last updated: 1 day ago 78% of users voted this helpful

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-05-23>>

*** begin quote ***

We’ve made the difficult decision to shut down Pocket on July 8, 2025. Thank you for being part of our journey over the years—we’re proud of the impact Pocket has had for our users and communities.

 

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Another free resource bites the dust.

I’ll begin exporting and seeking alternatives. (https://alternativeto.net/software/pocket)

Argh!

 

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: The US defaulted on these bonds thanks to Roosevelt

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/12/26/when-the-us-government-defaulted-on-its-bonds/

When the US Government Defaulted on its Bonds
Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2024-12-26>>

*** begin quote ***

The US Treasury called in this Fourth Liberty Bond on April 15, 1934, for redemption. However, the US defaulted on this term by refusing to redeem the bond in gold. They also ignored the dollar devaluation imposed by Roosevelt, which changed the dollar’s gold value from $20.67 to $35. The entire purpose of the gold clauses prior to Roosevelt was to protect against a currency devaluation. The 21 million bondholders lost 139 million troy ounces of gold, which caused the loss in international value terms to be approximately 70% of the bond’s principal.

*** end quote ***

70% loss.

End the end of “sound (hard) money” meant that the Federal Gooferment was no longer held to any standard of “money”.  It became a tyrant.

The plague of “paper money” was now visited upon the USA.

And, things would never be the same again,

Prices now always go up and the value of savings in dollars shrinks.

Any one wonder why bitcoin, gold, and silver are going up?  Can’t print more of them.

Where does this runaway freight train of deficits, debt, and “inflation” end?

We’ll become like the Roman, Spanish, French, and English Empires!  Weimar Republic, Zimbabwe, Argentina, … … 

Argh!

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: Broken homes seems to be “acceptable”; not selfishness

Thursday, April 3, 2025

https://nypost.com/2025/03/30/opinion/i-was-devastated-when-my-father-abandoned-me-yet-liberals-make-excuses-for-broken-homes/

I was devastated when my father abandoned me — yet liberals make excuses for broken homes
By Adam B. Coleman 
Published March 30, 2025, 3:54 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

A child growing up in a broken home automatically puts them at a disadvantage. Studies across the board show that children of two-parent families have a better chance of success in education, in business . . . in life. Yet too often, society doesn’t do enough to encourage these unions, even saying it doesn’t matter. In his new book, “The Children We Left Behind: How Western Culture Rationalizes Family Separation & Ignores The Pain Of Child Neglect,” Adam B. Coleman explains how this is a terrible mistake of selfishness. An excerpt:

Why didn’t my father love me? Why did my father abandon me? 

*** end quote ***

This really hit home.  

I can still feel the “sting” of rejection.  And, these and other questions just get suppressed.  Maybe I should have been in “therapy”?  Even though that was unheard of. 

At some point in time, one has to “grow up”, “grow a pair”, or “just accept the cards that life deals you”.  

Shut up and move on.

But especially as the “game clock” winds down, the “Shoulda, coulda, and woulda! “ thinking emerges.  How would I have been different and how would my life have evolved differently.

Unfortunately, there’s no “time” VCR to remind and rerun / retry life.

“… checked the Eternal Possibilities Machine, which generates all the possibilities for use in creating the alternative worlds. In all those probability lines …” CHURCH 10●19●62 (Vol 1) 978-0-557-08387-9 page 45

I guess every child feels this and maybe that’s why things are this way now.

One of the many many things we’ll never know.

Sigh!

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DISCOURAGING: What can one say when stupidity results in a disaster?

Friday, March 28, 2025

https://nj1015.com/racing-car-with-4-brothers-from-nj-somersaulted-before-diving-from-overpass/?lh_aid=84349&lh_cid=ihudnz1r7o&di=ff7a74372a8025944d951624d55a7076

Racing car with 4 brothers from NJ somersaulted before diving from overpass

Dan Alexander  —  Published: March 24, 2025

*** begin quote ***

  • The Mazda was racing another vehicle on Route 95, police say
  • It overturned numerous times before crashing through the guide rail
  • 2 brothers and a puppy died after the crash

PHILADELPHIA — A New Jersey man who was behind the wheel of a car that crashed off a Route 95 overpass on Friday night remains hospitalized with one of his siblings after their two brothers died in the wreck.

*** end quote ***

What can one say when stupidity results in a disaster?

I guess that’s why the universe delivers 1.04 boys to 1.00 girls in population studies.

Only the puppy was “innocent”.

Sometimes the “Darwin Award” is funny like the man hitting the sleeping crocodile because he want to see some action.  In this case, it’s just sadly needless.

I feel for their parents and friends. 

Old enough to know better; now will never grow old.

Dona Nobis Pacem

—30—

Leave a Comment » | DISCOURAGING | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »