INTERESTING: Reinke’s “Power of Negative Thinking”

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/heres-the-actual-mathematical-equation-for-happiness.html

Here’s the Actual Mathematical Equation for Happiness
Diana Vilibert
August 6, 2014

Equationtopr

*** begin quote ***

“It is often said that you will be happier if your expectations are lower. We find that there is some truth to this,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Robb Rutledge. “Lower expectations make it more likely that an outcome will exceed those expectations and have a positive impact on happiness.” But expectations don’t just affect our happiness after we learn the outcome of a decision. “If you have plans to meet a friend at your favourite restaurant, those positive expectations may increase your happiness as soon as you make the plan,” says Dr. Rutledge. “The new equation captures these different effects of expectations and allows happiness to be predicted based on the combined effects of many past events.”

And while the key to happiness may not lie in expecting the worst, this study does open up the door to learning more about mood disorders and improving treatment options.

*** end quote ***

With all due apologies to Doctor Norman Vincent Peale (Requiescat In Pacem) and his Power of Positive Thinking … …

Here is scientific confirmation of my proposed MEME of a particular wisdom

——

“Expect the worst and all surprises are pleasant ones!”

— —  which I call “Reinke’s Law of Negative Thinking”.

Yeah!

Now I just need to right a book on that topic.

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http://lifehacker.com/the-benefits-of-pessimism-1620150406  

Strategic pessimism: This style of pessimism uses strategies to lower expectations and decrease anxiety by thinking through all the negative outcomes and planning for them.

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QUOTE: The late Robin Williams

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

“You never know another man’s burden until he puts it down and you feel the ground shake.”
— Robin Wiiliams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014)

Requiescat In Pacem

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RANT: “Dollar Dominance” is important

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-06/russia-sanctions-accelerate-risk-to-dollar-dominance.html

Russia Sanctions Accelerate Risk to Dollar Dominance
By Rachel Evans Aug 6, 2014 11:51 AM ET

*** begin quote *** 

While no one’s suggesting the dollar will lose its status as the main currency of business any time soon, its dominance is ebbing. The greenback’s share of global reserves has already shrunk to under 61 percent from more than 72 percent in 2001. The drumbeat has only gotten louder since the financial crisis in 2008, an event that began in the U.S. when subprime-mortgage loans soured, and the largest emerging-market nations including Russia have vowed to conduct more business in their currencies.

*** end quote ***

The political powers that be don’t understand that this is reaching the tipping point. Once “we” lose “dollar dominance”, life will be much tougher. Think the Germans in the Wehrmar Republic. We know how that Republic fared. It’s all about a countries wealth and currency.

Argh!

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RANTING Robin Williams Requiescat In Pacem

Monday, August 11, 2014

If you are feeling depressed, there is help out there. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.

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Robin Williams
Requiescat In Pacem

He made me laugh so many times.

Stunning that a man could be so “funny” and yet so crazy. I’m praying for his soul and the family. Maybe someday, science will uncover a cure.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robin-williams-dies-suspected-suicide-724724

Williams’ publicist Mara Buxbaum told The Hollywood Reporter: “Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
His wife, Susan Schneider, said: “This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin’s family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

# – # – # – # – #  2014-Aug-11 @ 20:52

Wall Street Journal reports

Actor Robin Williams Dead, Authorities Say

Actor Robin Williams is believed to have died of suicide by asphyxiation, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said. He was found in his home in Tiburon, Calif., Monday and pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. The Oscar-winning actor and comedian was known for “Dead Poets Society,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Mork & Mindy” and his stand-up career.

Mr. Williams was found dead in his home after a 911 call reported he was found unconscious and not breathing in his home. He was last seen alive at his home, where he lives with his wife, at 10 p.m. on Sunday, the sheriff’s department said.

# – # – # – # – #  2014-Aug-11 @ 21:16   

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HARDWARE: Turn off the Caps Lock key

Monday, August 11, 2014

http://www.cultofmac.com/246792/stop-yelling-turn-off-the-caps-lock-key-on-your-mac-os-x-tips/

Stop Yelling – Turn Off The Caps Lock Key On Your Mac [OS X Tips]

Rob LeFebvre (6:00 am PDT, Sep 23rd 2013)

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Gal Pal’s Mom, on a Windoze implementation, for the n-th time, had the caps lock on while typing her password for AOL.

(Yeah, I know, who knew AOL was still business.)

So, Gal Pal asked me how to permanently disable it.

Easy peasy.

Then I go to think of all the times I inadvertently did the same thing.

So I found out how to turn it off on the Mac OS X.

Easier!

Done.

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GUNS: WMAL Brian Wilson RKBA is the “war on women”

Sunday, August 10, 2014

http://stationcaster.com/stations/wmal/?d=AM&cid=5541

Mornings on the Mall 08.08.14
Added: 8/8/14
Peter Morici, Rep. Frank Wolf & Bret Baier

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Brian Wilson got on a roll yesterday morning.

I don’t have an exact timestamp but it was in the 7:30 time frame.

He made the assertion that the true war on women was the right to defend themselves.

His example was:

“Taylor Woolrich, a junior, says Dartmouth administrators told her they won’t let her carry a gun on campus, even though she lives in fear of a man who has been stalking her since she was a high school student in San Diego.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/06/ivy-leaguer-plagued-by-stalker-may-drop-out-over-schools-anti-gun-policy/

I have a “bumper sticker” quote that sums it up: “Victim disarmament is the view that it is somehow better to see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, than see her with a gun in her hand.” — T.D. Melrose

Brian went on to argue that the R’s should adopt this issue in response to the D’s “war on women” spiel.

He also suggested that the NRA jump on this issue.

And, he expressed shock that this was in New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state.

(I’m a signer on the Free State Project freestateproject.org to move 20,000 liberty lovers to NH and make it the “truly Free State”. Obviously a lot of work to be done yet.) 

The Second Amendment is about self-defense. Both from the tyranny of the government and other predators both two legged and four legged.

Argh!

Seems so simple to me!

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POLITICAL: Nagasaki — an anti-Catholic national disgrace

Saturday, August 9, 2014

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/08/gary-g-kohls/unwelcome-truths/

Unwelcome Truths for Church and State Concerning the Bombing of Nagasaki August 9, 1945
By Gary G. Kohls
August 6, 2014

*** begin quote ***

69 years ago an all-Christian bomber crew dropped “Fat Man”, a plutonium bomb, on Nagasaki, Japan, instantly annihilating tens of thousands of innocent civilians, a disproportionate number of them Japanese Christians, and permanently or mortally wounding uncountable numbers of others.

In 1945, the US was the most Christian nation in the world (that is, if you can label as Christian a nation whose churches overwhelmingly fail to sincerely teach or adhere to the ethics of Jesus as taught in the Sermon on the Mount).

Prior to the bomb exploding over St. Mary’s Urakami Cathedral on 11:02 AM, Nagasaki was the most Christian city in Japan. The Nagasaki cathedral was the largest Christian cathedral in the Orient.

*** end quote ***

Never mind “just war”.

How about Christian charity?

In Little League, there’s the mercy rule.

In life, the golden rule.

This makes me sad.

Now that I am old, I can see sadly the result.

The Swiss have the right idea.

Argh!

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MEME: Confirmation Bias

Friday, August 8, 2014

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2014/08/a-simple-strategy-for-shaking-confirmation-bias/

A Simple Strategy for Shaking Confirmation Bias
[TIP ‘o’ the HAT to: The Big Picture by Barry Ritholtz 

A Simple Strategy for Shaking Confirmation Bias
Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.

*** begin quote *** 

One of the most insidious cognitive biases affecting investors and traders is confirmation bias. Once we hold a particular view, we tend to prefer processing information that fits with that view. What’s worse is that, because of our bias blind spots, we commonly recognize biased thinking in others, but not in ourselves. We know from research in psychology that fresh inputs and mental flexibility are essential to creativity of thought. When we become locked in confirmation bias, we cease to innovate.

*** and ***

We are properly discerning about the food we put into our mouths, but not so much with the information we choose to process.  Fresh inputs, chosen for their quality, provide a healthy intellectual diet and catalyze creative thinking.  If we’re not regularly surprised by what we read and discuss, the odds are good that our brain’s diet has turned stale.  And that’s a danger zone for confirmation bias.

*** and ***

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY and works as a performance coach for hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, and investment banks.  He is the author of the TraderFeed blog and several books on trading psychology.

*** end quote ***

This is one of my (many) concerns.

I try and avoid it (and many other biases) by confirming external evidence.

Probably would be a good exercise t itemize all the biases. Mind map anyone?

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INTERESTING: Two questions about the “border crisis”

Thursday, August 7, 2014

On Thursday, August 7, 2014, OLD FRIEND wrote:

Puzzle One:

Imagine you are a 3 to 8 year old child:

You are asked to walk from Houston, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota on your own with no food or belongings to sustain you.

Then you are asked to walk an additional 100 miles past Minnesota.

Could you do it?

How long would it take you as a 6 year old? That is the minimum distance these poor, helpless little ones have supposedly walked from Central America to the border of Texas, again, on their own. They didn’t get lost.

And they survived the journey without help (unless you buy in to the notion that a destitute out-of-work family run out of their homes by gangs and living in squalor somehow came up with $8,000 to $10,000 for EACH child to pay a Coyote to take them to the border.

Question: Do they really think we are that STUPID?

Answer: I guess so …… it’s Working thanks to the Socialist Propaganda Media we have forcing down our throats every minute of every Day!

Acrossmexico

Puzzle Two:

Now, on the map above, you must start somewhere in the green area. Let’s make it easy and start where green meets orange, so that you had the least mileage by not having to cover the whole green area. Just start where the green meets the orange. Blue, of course, is water.

Your task is to figure a route from the green area to the purple area without going into the blue area and while avoiding towns and cities in the orange area.

The black line is the distance from the nearest town to Mexico’s southern border that touches the green area to Laredo, Texas, one of the CLOSEST purple towns —1,220 miles across desert and mountains with no equipment or food or help.

If orange had stopped these innocents where orange touches green, problem would not have occurred. However, what six year old do you know who could walk 1,220 miles (minimum), probably more like 1,500 miles on their own without dying?

How many days would it take for a 6 year old…1st Grade…..to walk 1,220 Miles without help, directions, food, sun protection, etc.?….#____________

I am beginning to think that the truth of all this isn’t being given fully to us, folks.

Someone created and assisted this, and the Socialist Media doesn’t want us figuring out who it is, don’t you think?

One answer, of course, is that they travel with their parents who drop them off at the border, then while the Border Patrol is babysitting the children, the parents sneak across the border, along with the drug smugglers and assorted other terrorists and felons! … then they will Vote for the next Socialist Democrat….Hillary!

Of course they will VOTE, we are the ONLY Democracy in the World that doesn’t have Voter I.D. ! Wonder Why? Now you have the answer.

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It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.
…British essayist G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

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FUN: S370HSSV

Thursday, August 7, 2014

The French Leader got a coded message from Bush Administration.

It read: S370HSSV‐0773H

The French were stumped and sent for the French Information Agency. The FIA was stumped too, so it went to the Russians.

The Russians couldn’t solve it either, so they asked the Germans.

The Germans, having received this same message during WWII from the Americans, suggested turning it upside down …

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I’ve added this to my profanity list.

As #2 behind <an anal opening surrounded by a sphincter> and near “ass” <synonym for donkey>!

Laughing!

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INTERESTING: “How smart is your right foot”

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

My friend shared some internet factoid which was interesting but not copyable.

(That is itself was interesting. I’ll be exploring that some more.)

Essentially, how start making an imaginary clockwise circles with your right foot.

Then, write the number 6.

Supposedly, your food will go in the opposite direction.

When I tried, it didn’t work.

Here’s my email back to him.

*** begin quote ***

Nope.

Instead of making the 6 as a right hander, us lefties, “forced converts” from being left handed to a right handed world, make our sixes from the inside in a clockwise fashion.

Hence, this doesn’t apply to us.

*** end quote ***

I have put my investigation into this non-copyable email on my Remember The Milk (https://www.rememberthemilk.com) “Techie” task list.

The only other place I’ve seen this is Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/). I figured out a bypass for that in an hour. (Not that I want to copy their stuff. Just that it’s an article of my”faith in technology” that nothing on the inet can be protected.

Laugh!

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SERVICE: ESPN on the inet via the ISPs

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/apps

Your Favorite ESPN Networks are Now Available live anytime and anywhere with WatchESPN.

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Doesn’t seem to work on the Mac?

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NOTRECOMMENDED: LIVESCRIBE

Monday, August 4, 2014

The products — livescribe3 and sky wifi — are both “interesting”!

My use of them was “disappointing”.

And, the “customer service” is 1 for 3 in successful uses.

Also, the “technical support” was slow to respond and very formulaic.

I will be consigning these to the “dust bin”.

Yell, if you want to borrow or buy them.

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NOTRECOMMENDED: Norwegian Cruise Line in on my you know what list

Sunday, August 3, 2014

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/27/cruise-line-refuses-to-re-book-family-vacation-after-5-year-old-diagnosed-with/

REGIONS
Cruise line refuses to re-book family vacation after boy diagnosed with cancer
Published July 27, 2014
FoxNews.com

*** begin quote ***

A cruise ship is refusing to let a New York couple re-book a dream summer vacation after their 5-year-old boy was unable to go on the trip because he was diagnosed with cancer.

The parents of Nicolas Colucci say Norwegian Cruise Line is refusing to accommodate them, citing its cancellation policy.

The family-friendly cruise, in partnership with the Nickelodeon channel, was scheduled to start on June 1, but Nicolas got sick on May 19. He was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his liver, and had surgery a few days later. He is still undergoing chemotherapy.

The cruise line says any cancellation within 14 days or less of the sail date is subject to a 100 percent cancellation fee. Now, the boy’s family is out $4,000.

*** end quote ***

I have cruised on NCL.

I would have used them again.

Not now. Not ever. 

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RANT: Lois Lerner’s emails

Saturday, August 2, 2014

http://www.therightcurmudgeon.com/2014/07/six-questions-for-the-irs-about-lois-lerners-emails

*** begin quote ***

A professional IT trade group with significant expertise in IT best practices has six questions that need to be answered about Lois Lerner’s -and at least 20 other IRS employees – email.

  1. What happened to the IRS’s IT Asset Managers who appear to have disappeared at a key juncture?
     
  2. Where is the documentation proving that Lois Lerner’s hard drive was wiped or destroyed? 
     
  3. Were the drives destroyed by an outside vendor or firm? 
     
  4. What are the IRS’s specific policies and procedures on document retention when hard drives are damaged or destroyed?
     
  5. What is the disaster recovery policy at the IRS? 
     
  6. Where are Lois Lerner’s emails from her Blackberry device? Are those secure? What is on the enterprise server? 

*** end quote ***

I would add some other questions!

  • Where all the email SERVERS backed up? (The emails should be recoverable from all the POST OFFICES that transmitted the email.)
  • What about all the people who received her, or email from the other “unlucky” folks whose hard drives died? (I have emails in MY in box from folks.)
  • What about other non-government email accounts like GMAIL to avoid to disclosure.
  • What about the NSA email snooping program? (Surely they have everything!) 

Argh!

It’s all corrupt.

And the politicians and bureaucrats have no shame.

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POLITICAL: Records retention policies compromised

Friday, August 1, 2014

http://www.therightcurmudgeon.com/2014/07/benghazi-talking-points-developed-govt-watchdogs-blast-kerry-aides-use-gmail-account

Home  Breaking News Feed  Breaking News – Daily Caller  
‘Is This How The Benghazi Talking Points Were Developed?’
Govt Watchdogs Blast Kerry Aide’s Use Of Gmail Account
Jul 25, 20140 39
By Brendan Bordelon

*** begin quote *** 

Two top government watchdogs in Washington D.C. slammed a key aide to Secretary of State John Kerry for using a private Gmail account to conduct official government business, calling it “the worst possible practice in trying to maintain transparency” and speculating whether this was “how the Benghazi talking points were developed.”

*** and ***

“Records retention policies could be compromised by the use of private email,” he said, referencing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rules giving citizens the right to check up on their government by requesting official documents. “There are a variety of ways that federal records laws could be compromised through the use of private emails to conduct public business.”

*** end quote ***

Just another way the current administration breaks the law.

Ho hum, what’s new about that?

“Move along, people. Nothing to see here. Go home, you looky-loos.” Officer Barbrady’s Catch Phrase South Park

Argh!

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JOBSEARCH: Axioms of an “employee”

Thursday, July 31, 2014

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-working-from-home-is-better-for-you-your-boss.html

FROM AN EMAIL

*** begin quote ***

Subject: 10 Reasons Working From Home is Better for You (& Your Boss) | Care2 Healthy Living

Should I send this to {REDACTED}?

*** end quote ***

I forwarded this link to {REDACTED}

and received these responses: 

*** begin quote ***

Yes please!

*** end quote ***

AND

*** begin quote ***

I don’t think it would do any good.  It might even be counterproductive as it expresses benefits from a perspective she does not apparently share.

*** end quote ***

MY RESPONSE

*** begin quote ***

Laugh! I agree.

{REDACTED} otoh didn’t see the “joke”.

{REDACTED} thought I was really going to forward it to {REDACTED}.

Whatanoob!

Interesting points though.

An “enlightened organization” would attempt to create shared value between the BORG (Business Organization) and “their” “Human Resources”.

*** end quote ***

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Attention: K-Mart shoppers be advise the “gold watch” era of employment is over. (Graduate college, get a good job with big corporation, stay with them for 40+ years, retire with savings and nice pension to a great “retirement”.) Folks who still believe in that will be working their golden years at WalMart as a “greeter”. Argh!  

This goes to my personal articles of faith; some of which are:

  •  Today’s “corporation” is a heartless, soulless, dishonest beast.
  • An employee is like a consultant; their ONLY job is find their next job.
  • IN dealing the workplace, one must always remember the JoHari window Johari window http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window 
  • Always remember “Human Resources” sends the signal that you’re a “paper clip”. 

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INITIALISMS: PGPIRU

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

PGPIRU (i.e.,”Promote the Guilty; Punish the Innocent; and Reward the Uninvolved.”) 

Originally heard in a Tom Peters audio book long ago and far away.

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ECONOMICS: Tom Woods give a clear definition and distinction

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/no_author/why-were-winning/

The Role of Austrian Economics in the Liberty Movement
July 22, 2014

*** begin quote ***

Tom Woods kicks-off this year’s Mises University with a brilliant discussion of the ‘Role of Austrian Economics in the Liberty Movement’.

*** end quote ***

An interesting hour.

I was fascinated by his clear definition and distinction between “Austrian Economics” (i.e., von Mises et al.) and the “Liberty Movement” spawned by Ron Paul.

Are “we” a minority? Absolutely.

So were the Dead Old White Guys!

The interesting part is about “we are winning” because “our” ideas align more closely with reality that do the Keynesian Economics and the big Gooferment welfare / warfare state with it’s Crony Capitalism, corrupt politicians, and lifetime lazy bureaucrats.

On to New Hampshire, as part of the Free State Project (http://freestateproject.org) to make it the FIRST truly “Free State”.

Argh!

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SECURITY: Hackers impersonating E-ZPass

Monday, July 28, 2014

Cyber Security Alert: Potential Phishing Attack
Hackers impersonating “E-ZPass Service Center Personnel” are trying to steal customer information by sending an email that contains a malicious link. Attacks have been targeted at personal email addresses stating that they have an overdue toll debt.

The attack tries to trick the user into clicking on a link to view an account invoice. The URL linked in the email directs the target to a malicious website that compromises the user’s personal account information. E-ZPass has identified the following subject lines in connection with the attack emails [PDF]: “in arrears for driving on toll road”, “Payment for driving on toll road”, “indebtedness for driving on toll road”, and “Pay for driving on toll road”.

If you receive such email in your personal mailbox, do not click on the attachment or forward it to anyone. If you have clicked on a link via your personal email account, we recommend that you change the password for any information that you entered into the malicious site.

# – # – # – # – #  2014-Jul-28 @ 11:05  

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RANT: Ukraine Deploying BUK Missiles In East

Monday, July 28, 2014

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/no_author/awkward-questions-for-us-ukraine/

Russia Says Has Photos Of Ukraine Deploying BUK Missiles In East, Radar Proof Of Warplanes In MH17 Vicinity
By Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
July 22, 2014

*** begin quote ***

7. Why was not completely closed to civilian aircraft airspace over the combat zone, especially because in this area there was no solid field of radar navigation?

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Another tin foil hat item.

I don’t think Putin or “the separatists” did it.

Cui Bono!

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RANT: Old credit card details?

Sunday, July 27, 2014

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/ars-editor-learns-feds-have-his-old-ip-addresses-full-credit-card-numbers/#p3

Ars editor learns feds have his old IP addresses, full credit card numbersFOIA request turns up 9 years of records, including plaintext credit card numbers.
by Cyrus Farivar – July 19 2014, 8:00am EDT

*** begin quote ***

I was most surprised to see my credit card details—full card number and expiration date—published unredacted and in the clear. Fortunately, that credit card number has long expired, but I was nonetheless appalled to see it out there. American Airlines, which had created that particular PNR in 2005, did not immediately respond to my request for comment on how or why such detailed personal information would show up here. (In other instances, the majority of the number was X’d out.)

*** end quote ***

We have no clue as to what the Gooferment is keeping on us.

Let alone why.

I think the “carry cost” (i.e., the dollar cost of the electrons in some data center somewhere) has arched the “trivial level”.

Not that if you were paying the bill would YOU think it was trivial, but to those folks, who say “not my money”, it’s trivial.

Argh!

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INTERESTING: Value Is Based on Your Reputation

Saturday, July 26, 2014

http://www.wired.com/2014/07/document-coin

A New Digital Currency Whose Value Is Based on Your Reputation
BY KLINT FINLEY   07.18.14  |   6:30 AM  

*** begin quote ***

Unlike with bitcoin—which keeps its currency scarce by rewarding it only to those who participate in what amounts to a race to solve complex cryptographic puzzles—anyone will be able to create a new Document Coin anytime they want. The value of each coin will be completely subjective, depending on who creates the coin and why. “For example, the coin my disco singer friend created and gave me at my barbeque might be what gets me past the rope at the club,” Anderson says. A coin minted by tech pundit Tim O’Reilly might be highly prized in Silicon Valley circles, but of little interest to musicians. “It’s a bit like a combination of a social network with baseball trading.”

*** end quote ***

Maybe some day, a “FERD” or a “jasper john” would actually be worth something?

Laff!

Not bloody well likely.

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TINFOILHAT: TWA 800 — a terrorist attack OR a US Navy blunder?

Friday, July 25, 2014

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/07/why_congress_must_reopen_the_twa_800_investigation.html

July 7, 2014
Why Congress Must Reopen the TWA 800 Investigation
By Jack Cashill

*** begin quote ***

There is much more, and I would invite those interested to read Hughes’s testimony in full. “During the course of my 42-year career as an investigator,” Hughes concludes, “the investigation of TWA Flight 800 was the only case in which I witnessed deception, lies and corruption on the parts of investigators and their management. The extraordinary measures to which the NTSB, FBI and CIA went to falsify and distort witness statements or accounts of what occurred, to alter and hide physical evidence and to mount a false public relations campaign to misinform the public, was unconscionable.”

Given its need to protect the “corporate memory,” no one really expected the NTSB to open this potentially criminal can of worms on its own. Now it is left to Congress, and if Congress does not act, no one will.

*** end quote ***

Either this was a terrorist attack OR a US Navy blunder. Nothing else makes sense.

Personally, I would accept either explanation if it was the truth.

Of course, a terrorist attack would not fit the political narrative that “the Homeland is secure”.

A naval blunder would be almost as embarrassing.

Sigh!

Unfortunately, once again, “We, The People” may never know the real truth.

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Posted by reinkefj

CLOUD: Foursquare morphs

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Foursquare logo

Hi ferdinand,

About five years ago, we launched a little app called Foursquare. As one of the first million people to sign up for Foursquare, you’ve been with us pretty much since the beginning. You’ve seen us grow from a tiny project to a 50,000,000-strong community. And, we’re about to embark on our biggest change yet. We are rolling out two apps – Swarm and Foursquare – one focused on keeping up and meeting up with your friends, the other focused on finding great places. As one of the first to try Foursquare, we wanted you to also be one of the first to see everything that we’ve been hard at work on over the past few months.

Everyone explores the world differently – guided by their own unique tastes, their friends, and the people they trust. Local search has never been good at this. It doesn’t get you, and, as a result, everyone gets the same one-size-fits-all results. Why should two very different people get the same recommendations when they visit Paris? Or the same list of places when they’re looking for a bar? We’re about to change that. In a couple weeks, we’re rolling out a brand new version of Foursquare that’s all about you. Tell us what you like, and we’ll be on the lookout for great places that match your tastes, wherever you are.

This means a few changes.

– First, starting tomorrow, we’re moving all check-ins to our new app, Swarm. Don’t worry; all your past check-ins, all your friends, all your photos, they’re all automatically in Swarm.
Over three quarters of you are already on the new app. (Thank you! And keep sending us feedback; we’re hustling on making improvements every day – get a preview of what’s next here) For everyone still using Foursquare to check in, you’ll need to download Swarm to keep checking in.

– Second, if you build a totally new app, you need a totally new logo. Our logo is changing from the check-in checkmark to something representing the new Foursquare. We designed it to be a mix of map pin and superhero emblem. We’ve always thought of Foursquare as giving you superpowers to explore your city, and our new logo reflects that vision. It’s coming soon to a homescreen near you.

Foursquare Logo

– Finally, we wanted to give everyone a peek at what’s coming. Here’s what you see when you open the new Foursquare. No two people view the world exactly the same, so no two people will have the same experience with the app. Once you teach Foursquare a couple things about you – add tastes, follow experts, or even just walk around for a few days – the app will be 100% yours.

Foursquare Home Screen

This is the beginning of the ‘personalized local search’ future we’ve been talking about since we started Foursquare. It’s been built with the help of our amazing 50,000,000-strong community, with all your tips, check-ins, photos, and the smarts we layered on top of that. You’ve been with us for a while, and all of your check-ins and history will continue to help shape your recommendations.

We can’t wait to get the new Foursquare, and new versions of Swarm, in your hands. If you use Foursquare to check in, download Swarm today. And, if you’ve been waiting for real local search, not just the yellow pages on your phone, stay tuned. The all new Foursquare will be here really soon.

– Team Foursquare

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Not so sure I want to play along.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Immigration Most Important; Gooferment and Economy close behind

Thursday, July 24, 2014

http://www.gallup.com/poll/173306/one-six-say-immigration-important-problem.aspx?version=print

July 16, 2014
One in Six Say Immigration Most Important U.S. Problem
Immigration concerns surged in July, while economic mentions ebbed
by Lydia Saad

*** begin quote ***

PRINCETON, NJ — With thousands of undocumented immigrant minors crossing the nation’s southern border in recent months, the percentage of Americans citing immigration as the top problem has surged to 17% this month, up from 5% in June, and the highest seen since 2006. As a result, immigration now virtually ties “dissatisfaction with government,” at 16%, as the primary issue Americans think of when asked to name the country’s top problem.

*** end quote ***

Funny how it all circles back to Gooferment!

Mix in the Middle East, Terrorism, and Oil; “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” to quote Oliver Hardy.

Wonder who The Sheeple will blame now?

Or just go back to Survivor, DWTS, or Kardashian nonsense.

Argh!

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