SERVICE: Mercedes supports What3Words

Monday, September 25, 2017

Dear Ferdinand,

It has been another epic month at what3words, and I’m delighted to announce that Mercedes-Benz will be the first car manufacturer to support 3 word addresses in their vehicles.

what3words will be built into their next generation infotainment system, launching early next year.

Drivers will be able to get into a new Mercedes-Benz, say a 3 word address, such as “alive caveman bends” and it will navigate them to that precise 3 metre square on the Trollstigen in Norway.

“This Could Be Mercedes’ Next Step Toward a Self-Driving Benz” – Fortune

“Best new in-car tech: 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show” – AutoTrader

“Stunning New System Used By Mercedes” – Forbes

Click here to read more and watch the film.

In other news this month, we received further recognition of our work at Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards and spoke at Helsinki Design Week alongside world-renowned architect and designer David Adjaye.

We discussed the difficulties of the UK postcode system with BBC News, and how what3words is now being used by some of London’s emergency services. And 3 word addresses are helping to coordinate rescue teams following the earthquakes in Mexico City.

You can read all about these and more on our site.

********

A great idea that would make life easier globally.

**********

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: In a very sad sort of way

Monday, September 25, 2017

http://collectivelyconscious.net/articles/20-words-that-describes-emotions-we-can-feel-but-just-cant-explain/

*** begin quote *** 

14. Ellipsism:

(n) A sadness that you’ll never be able to know how history will turn out.

*** end quote ***

I recently had this feeling — which I never had; not maybe never recognized — when helping to care for a newborn. When he’s 20, I’ll be 90. When he’s 40, I’d be 120. Unless there is a “miracle of modern medicine”, I won’t be around to see how he makes out. Will he thrice or even survive?

It’s like reading a mystery novel and losing it before you find out who done it.

I think there were a MASH and a HIMYM episode, each like this.

Argh!

Frustrating, but nothing that can be done about it.

Maybe “we” should invent a “reverse time capsule”?

Double Argh!

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MONEY: “Public” pensions should be under scrutiny by both taxpayers and potential recipients

Sunday, September 24, 2017

http://www.jasonstapleton.com/651-this-time-its-different-really/

*** begin quote ***

Great article out of Zero Hedge today covering the current pension crisis in America. If you’ve listened to this show for any length of time, you know the public pension system is wrecked. But this article really went into detail about how it all might shape out in the end. Let’s just say it’s not a rosy picture. Like Mauldin says, “There are no good choices anymore.”

*** end quote ***

An excellent point that BOTH taxpayers and those future “public” pension recipients should be very skeptical and demanding that the politicians and bureaucrats be accountable.

Political promises are worth the paper that they are printed on. (Hint: It’s all oral.)

Forewarned is fore armed.

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WSJ: Gooferment “retirement” promises should be suspect

Thursday, September 21, 2017

FROM WSJ

*** begin quote ***

NUMBER OF THE DAY

$645 billion

The amount U.S. states as a group will need to pay the retiree health benefits they have promised. Under accounting guidelines that apply to most governments, states and cities around the country will book the losses on their balance sheets starting in fiscal 2018—a shift that could potentially lead to cuts in retiree heath benefits.

*** end quote ***

I know some Gooferment employees who assume that their “pensions” are rock solid guaranteed. I try to caution them to be skeptical, but like the “Delphic Oracle” I can sway them.

So sad.

But one very ugly chicken is coming home to roost.

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NUMBER OF THE DAY
$645 billion
The amount U.S. states as a group will need to pay the retiree health benefits they have promised. Under accounting guidelines that apply to most governments, states and cities around the country will book the losses on their balance sheets starting in fiscal 2018—a shift that could potentially lead to cuts in retiree heath benefits.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Equifax offers but doesn’t make it eay

Monday, September 18, 2017

https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/

*** begin quote ***

The company offered free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection to all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were definitively impacted.TrustedID Premier includes 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet scanning for Social Security numbers.

*** end quote ***

How?

Question unanswered.

Argh!

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RANT: GLASSESUSA doesn’t fix things

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Dear Ferdinand,

Order # 100709412

We understand your concern. But we do not provide this service. You can do it locally.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at returns@glassesusa.com.

Thank you for choosing to shop with us.

Regards,

Returns Department
GlassesUSA.com

**********************************

NOT RECOMMENDED!

Argh!

***************************************

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RANT: NFL cities versus teams

Monday, September 11, 2017

Watching the “Los Angeles” Chargers!

I guess the cities are disconnected from “their” teams.

Maybe the low ratings are not because of politics but the lack of loyalty to the cities that have “invested” their taxpayers money and the fans that have an emotional connections.

Maybe the “circuses” are losing their appeal to the suckers?

*****

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INTERESTING: Voynich manuscript decoded

Saturday, September 9, 2017

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/

MYSTERY SOLVED —The mysterious Voynich manuscript has finally been decoded
History researcher says that it’s a mostly plagiarized guide to women’s health.
ANNALEE NEWITZ – 9/8/2017, 4:10 PM

*** begin quote ***

Since its discovery in 1912, the 15th century Voynich Manuscript has been a mystery and a cult phenomenon. Full of handwriting in an unknown language or code, the book is heavily illustrated with weird pictures of alien plants, naked women, strange objects, and zodiac symbols. Now, history researcher and television writer Nicholas Gibbs appears to have cracked the code, discovering that the book is actually a guide to women’s health that’s mostly plagiarized from other guides of the era.

Gibbs writes in the Times Literary Supplement that he was commissioned by a television network to analyze the Voynich Manuscript three years ago. Because the manuscript has been entirely digitized by Yale’s Beinecke Library, he could see tiny details in each page and pore over them at his leisure. His experience with medieval Latin and familiarity with ancient medical guides allowed him to uncover the first clues.

*** end quote ***

Having had some training in cryptology, I found this interesting and somewhat funny.

I guess no one in 100+ years  ever put together the clues.

Great job by this fellow.

Guess we need an inventory of all the “puzzles” for TV shows to solve for us. Maybe they can solve all our problems.

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RANT: Babies aren’t THAT hard

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Why do women think a man can’t handle an infant? Too many TV commercials that show men as fools?

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WSJ: Amazon slashing prices on grocery items

Sunday, August 27, 2017

FROM WSJ

The Retail King

Amazon said it would begin slashing prices on grocery items from bananas to baby kale at its new Whole Foods Market unit right away, serving notice that the e-commerce giant plans to move quickly to shake up the supermarket industry with its $13.7 billion acquisition. The announcement Thursday, which sent stocks of traditional grocers into a fresh tailspin, said price changes for staples and more high-end foods would go into effect as soon as the deal closes on Monday. The company also said its Amazon Prime program, which analysts estimate has more than 60 million members, will become Whole Foods’s customer-rewards program. Stocks for six large food retailers, including Kroger and Wal-Mart, lost around $12 billion in value after the announcement. Grocers and investors say they are concerned that Amazon could start a price war.

# – # – #

Aren’t lower prices good for ALL consumers?

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Let the “free market” operate; you can’t manipulate people

Saturday, August 26, 2017

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-park-services-botched-bottle-ban-1503616147?mod=djemMER

OPINION REVIEW & OUTLOOK
The Park Service’s Botched Bottle Ban
Obama’s behavioral economists must have been on vacation.
By The Editorial Board
Aug. 24, 2017 7:09 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Vacationers can now buy bottled water in national parks, after the Trump Administration this month ended an Obama-era policy that sought to reduce plastic waste. Environmentalists responded with predictable outrage, but reversing the ban is healthier and greener.

*** and ***

The teachable moment turns out to be a lesson in the law of unintended consequences.

Appeared in the August 25, 2017, print edition.

*** end quote ***

The “free market” is a slippery thing. It’s like water. It finds its own level.

Argh!

Only Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats think they can “outsmart” the consumer.

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RANT: Best comment about the demonstration in Boston

Monday, August 21, 2017

2017-Aug-21

FROM THE WSJ

*** begin quote ***

The rally in a nutshell: “Excuse me,” one man innocently asked a Globe reporter, “where are the white supremacists?”

*** end quote ***

‘nut said!

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INSPIRATIONAL: Can DNA open eyes?

Monday, August 21, 2017

http://mailchi.mp/exponentialview/ev127?e=fa5da2e308

*** begin quote ***

https://www.statnews.com/2017/08/16/white-nationalists-genetic-ancestry-test/

White nationalists in America are flocking to DNA tests. They don’t always like the results.

*** end quote ***

I thought this was a hoot.

It just goes to show you that when folks get a scientific fact they don’t like, they can quibble until they get one they do like.

My question for these … … “interesting individuals” is would you take a transfusion from a black human being to save your life? (You could ask the same question in reverse. My answer is “hell yes” and be eternally grateful to the donor.)

Perhaps, these finding could change some hearts and minds?

— 30 —

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TINFOILHAT: Herbert Philbrick and the Kennedy assassination

Sunday, August 20, 2017

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/jacob-hornberger/figuring-jfk-murder-coup/

Figuring Out The Kennedy Assassination
By Jacob G. Hornberger
The Future of Freedom Foundation
August 18, 2017

*** begin quote ***

The official story of the Kennedy assassination is that he was killed by a former U.S. Marine, lone-nut, communist assassin named Lee Harvey Oswald.

The big problem, however, is that the official story has never comported with much of the circumstantial evidence in the case nor with common sense, reason, and logic. That’s why no one has ever been able to come up with a credible motive for Oswald to kill Kennedy.

*** and ***

In the 1950s, there was a famous television series called I Led Three Lives, which is based on a book of the same name by a man named Herbert Philbrick. The series revolved around an American man who posed as a communist but who was actually a FBI agent. The man’s job was to infiltrate communist cells that were supposedly operating here in the United States and secretly report their activities to the FBI.

*** and ***

Was Oswald in fact an U.S. intelligence agent whose secret portrayal as a communist was used to frame him for assassinating the president? As I show in my ebook Regime Change: The JFK Assassination, that’s the only thesis by which all the mysteries, anomalies, inconsistencies, and contradictions disappear. It’s the only thesis by which all the pieces of circumstantial evidence fall into place in the Kennedy assassination.

*** end quote ***

I remember watching that “I Led Three Lives”. Very powerful TV propaganda.

Well, why I am not ready to say this theory makes everything problematic disappear, it certainly seem plausible.

I’m too old to think “We, The Sheeple” will ever learn the “truth”.

I’m too cynical to believe the official story.

I’m disgusted that the “facts” haven’t come out.

And, I’m annoyed that “We, The Sheeple” don’t really care.

Sigh! So sad.

This is how the American Experiment dies, from the ignorance and apathy of the citizens.

Trump’s current troubles with a “leaky” and fiercely oppositional bureaucracy is indicative of how much power the Deep State has over the levers of Gooferment.

Argh!

The remedy is secession and break it up.

— 30 —

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VOCABULARY: “backronym” — the word was picked first, then an acronym written to fit it

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

http://www.rd.com/culture/common-acronyms/

*** begin quote ***

The USA PATRIOT Act stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (seriously). Linguists call this a “backronym”—the word “Patriot” was likely picked first, then an acronym written to fit it.

*** end quote ***

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Baby clothes

Friday, August 11, 2017

… … What genius decided to put snaps on a baby's onesie? The same genius who thought a neck to toe zipper was a good idea? Idiots! (With apologies to all the idiots out there.)

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POLITICAL: Pronounced the Afghan War unwinnable

Saturday, August 5, 2017

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/eric-margolis/trump-emulate-gorbachev/

US Generals Want to Extend Our Longest War
By Eric Margolis
August 5, 2017

*** begin quote ***

Trump had better come up with a better idea.  My solution to the 17-year war:  emulate the example of the courageous Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.  He pronounced his Afghan War unwinnable, told his angry generals to shut up, and ordered the Red Army out of the war in Afghanistan.

*** end quote ***

I voted for DJT45 with zero expectations. He was “the prettiest horse in the glue factory coral”. I’d hoped that he would make peace with the Russians, revoke all the various regulations that have the American economy tied up in knots, and prevent the Congress from doing anything more stupid than they usually do.

So far, the stalemate suits me just fine. 

I would like peace and prosperity.

Ending Afghanistan would be an EXCELLENT foreign policy.

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RANT: The end of “football”?

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Game Over?

It seems crazy to imagine the end of football. The game is so beloved, so profitable, and, frankly, such a cultural mirror that it feels like a permanent feature of American life. There are many franchises and schools with a deep interest in football’s continued prosperity. The game is a godsend for the entertainment industry. All of which is why if football ever vanishes, it will likely vanish from within—from the players and their parents. This past week a disturbing medical study was released showing brain damage in the brains of 110 of 111 deceased NFL players. Shortly afterward, a Ph.D.-candidate offensive lineman in Baltimore abruptly retired at age 26. Sports columnist Jason Gay explores what the report means for the future of the sport.

# – # – # – # – # 

Certainly can’t ask men to risk their brains for a “game”. No matter how much money it makes!

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INSPIRATIONAL: Pilot lands plane ‘blind’

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/pilot-lands-plane-blind-after-giant-hailstones-shatter-cockpit-windscreen/news-story/9ffbdc793087b28340b988f2d71b3720

Pilot lands plane ‘blind’ after giant hailstones shatter cockpit windscreen
AUGUST 1, 2017 11:31AM

*** begin quote ***

A voice on the ground is heard saying: “He won’t do it, he won’t do it.”

*** end quote ***

Is there a “Sully Award” for the most astounding feat with an airplane?

If there is, these guys should get it. I’d like to know how they did it.

For the voice on the ground, I’m reminded of this quote.

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” — George Bernard Shaw

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POLITICAL: Big Sugar takes on the WHO with Gooferment help

Monday, July 31, 2017

https://nutritionfacts.org/2017/07/25/big-sugar-flexes-its-muscles/

Big Sugar Flexes its Muscles
Written By Michael Greger M.D. FACLM on July 25th, 2017

*** begin quote ***

All of these industries fear regulation and protect themselves by using the same tactics…front groups, lobbies, promises of self-regulation, lawsuits, and industry-funded research that confuses the evidence and keeps the public in doubt.”

*** end quote ***

If the Republic has ANY hope we have to break the back of Big Gooferment, Crony Capitalism, and the UN. 

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, in this case, WHO is correct about the problem.

Imagine if we all just stopped supporting the Big Crony Capitalists?

No Gooferment required.

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GUNS: A “smart gun” is “dumb”

Sunday, July 30, 2017

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2017/07/firing_a_locked.html

Firing a Locked Smart Gun

The Armatix IP1 “smart gun” can only be fired by someone who is wearing a special watch. Unfortunately, this security measure is easily hackable.

—–

Stupid to think that a “computer in a gun” can be secured.

Common sense is better than idle technology.

–30–

 

 

 

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RANT: And the airlines wonder why

Saturday, July 29, 2017

https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-airline-seat-you-paid-for-isnt-yours-1501081568?mod=djem10point

Please Be Seated

If you buy an assigned seat at a theater, sports arena or concert venue, you get the seat you picked. But an assigned seat on an airline is radically different: Every so often, you don’t get it, even when you pay extra for it. Premium-seating fees guarantee nothing. It’s happened to families who see their children reassigned rows away from their parents. It’s happened to single travelers when airline computers automatically shuffle seats on full flights. It’s happened to political commentator Ann Coulter. But why? Airlines started placing price tags on particular seats in about 2010. But they didn’t really change their procedures at airport gates to match the marketing. We look at why passengers’ expectations often don’t match up with reality.

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That Airline Seat You Paid for Isn’t Yours
Frustrated fliers discover that paying for a preferred seat on a flight guarantees them nothing
By Scott McCartney
Updated July 26, 2017 1:37 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

If you buy an assigned seat at a theater, sports or concert venue, you get the seat you picked. But an assigned seat on an airline is radically different: Every so often, you don’t get it, even when you pay extra for it. Premium-seating fees guarantee nothing.

It’s happened to families who see their children reassigned rows away from their parents. It’s happened to single travelers when airline computers automatically shuffle seats on full flights. And it famously happened to political commentator Ann Coulter, who erupted in a Twitter tirade earlier in July after Delta moved her from a preferred aisle seat to a window seat in the same extra-legroom row. Delta roared back, calling her out for attacking employees and the airline over what was at best a minor inconvenience.

Airlines started placing price tags on particular seats—letting fliers pay an ancillary fee for a preferred seat, often with extra legroom—in about 2010. But they didn’t really change their procedures at airport gates to match the marketing. That means passengers’ expectations often don’t match up with reality.

*** end quote ***

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Sorry but this is all “barbara streisand”!

Nothing but pure “bait and switch”. Maybe if the Big Airlines weren’t “in bed” with Big Gooferment, the traveler would get a fair shake.

Sounds like an “unfair and unequal” contract. Doesn’t Judy Judy say that isn’t allowed. Much like the shrink-wrap, “license disclosure after purchase”, and “terms & conditions” in 3 point red font on red background in retail cars! 

Sorry, that’s why flying is when you just have NO OTHER CHOICE. Bring on the self-driving cars.

Argh!

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JOBFINDING: Maybe you want to join the NutritionFacts.org team?

Friday, July 28, 2017

New Job Openings

Are you interested in joining the NutritionFacts.org team? I need someone (or even better someones—plural) to help research and write future video scripts.

If you have a knack for finding, reading, and analyzing academic journal articles and are a skilled writer, consider applying here.

Please note, though, the application process involves intensive days-long skills testing, so please carefully check the requirements to make sure you might be a good fit.


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INTERESTING: Would seem that “The West” is superior!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/07/walter-e-williams/western-values-superior/

Western Values Are Superior
By Walter E. Williams
July 26, 2017

*** begin quote ***

Here’s part of President Donald Trump’s speech in Poland: “The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?”

After this speech, which was warmly received by Poles, the president encountered predictable criticism. Most of the criticism reflected gross ignorance and dishonesty.

One example of that ignorance was penned in the Atlantic magazine by Peter Beinart, a contributing editor and associate professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York. Beinart said, “Donald Trump referred 10 times to ‘the West’ and five times to ‘our civilization.’ His white nationalist supporters will understand exactly what he means.” He added, “The West is a racial and religious term. To be considered Western, a country must be largely Christian (preferably Protestant or Catholic) and largely white.”

*** and ***

By the way, one need not be a Westerner to hold Western values. One just has to accept the sanctity of the individual above all else.

*** end quote ***

From the barbarism and the treatment of women certainly illustrates how correct this is.

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INTERESTING: The Giant Stone Balls of Costa Rica — another example of how little we know

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

http://www.cracked.com/article_16871_6-insane-discoveries-that-science-cant-explain.html

6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can’t Explain

*** begin quote ***

The Giant Stone Balls of Costa Rica

The Mystery:

Costa Rica and a few surrounding areas are scattered with giant stone balls. They are smooth and perfectly spherical, or nearly so. Some of them are quite small, a few inches in diameter, but some of them are as large as eight feet in diameter weighing several tons.

They have been chiseled to perfection by persons unknown, despite the fact that Costa Rica is still not scheduled to enter the Bronze Age until 2013. The are balls everywhere and serve no apparent purpose, like a swing club on Gentlemen’s Night.

And God said, “It’s nice, but could use some more purposeless balls.”

Some of the balls have been blasted apart by locals hoping to find gold, coffee beans, or even babies. Some have been rolled around, but some are too heavy to move even with a bulldozer. Not that they have bulldozers in Costa Rica.

Why Can’t They Solve It?

About the most useful information anyone has gotten is that there are not, under any circumstance, any quarries anywhere near the balls. This information is actually useless considering the balls are carved from volcanic rock.

Our Guess:

In 1,000 years the eggs of the stone men will hatch, and their offspring will emerge to rule the Earth.

*** end quote ***

It’s amazing how little we know.

I wonder how many more “mysteries” there are. Probably need a Snopes-like site to catalog them.

Argh!

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INSPIRATIONAL: Tending a baby … …

Sunday, July 23, 2017

2017-Jul-23 2054

IMG 1943

For the past few days / weeks / eons, I’ve been getting a taste of “parenthood 101”.

I now understand why I was never “blessed” with my own.

They are too much work. 

Laugh!

My blogging has been disrupted. I’ll try to do better in the future.

Laugh!

(Like anyone really cares.)

# – # – # – # – #  2017-Jul-23 @ 21:02  

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