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- December 12, 2022
- Festival of Unmentionable Thoughts 2022
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Anymore I have a lot of thoughts I simply keep to myself. Whereas once I was the bastion of TMI — I find that aspect of my social interaction has vastly diminished.
I don't really consider anything which transpires between the ears to be too unmentionable or nasty to share with others. I just lack that shock value interest I once vigorously pursued as a matter of humoring myself.
My only saving grace in this context is the fact that I don't typically act on any of those unmentionable thoughts I have yet keep to myself.
I don't actively pursue the harm of others. However, if I had my way some would come to irreparable harm. It's just civil comportment standing in the way.
Somewhere I developed this tendency toward having my opinion and letting it stand at that. Just because I think it I no longer have to say it.
In the past I could allow pugilism and fisticuffs rule the roost. I have had many arguments over the years which inevitably turned hostile. All because I had to tell everything I knew.
That was then. This is now.
As you participate in this Festival of Unmentionable Thoughts (or not) I hope you'll remember the context of your existence and not make things more difficult for yourself as I once was compelled to do.
Perhaps that provocative side of me simply was overcome with other aspects of my personality.
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- December 11, 2022
- International Shareware Day 2022
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My oldie but goodie shareware days were fruitful and many — enjoyable while they lasted ... but are also long gone.
Back in the day software publishers would release "try before you buy" versions of their products in an attempt to sell the customer. You would load a demo copy of a program then optionally decide to pay and "activate" or "register" it after purchase to enable all of the various features it may entail.
I was the proud owner of a humongous collection of shareware games that I would dutifully install on my mother's first computer for all the children in her care. It was a home made 386-40 with 8 megabytes of RAM, CGA graphics and an 80 gb hard drive ...
Which weighed about 80 pounds as well in the tallest Wells American tower case I'd ever seen. Ah, those were the days. Anyway my tastes are certainly not something the shareware market could entertain and I will likely write my own necessities if push comes to shove.
So today is International Shareware Day.
It goes down on the second Saturday of every December. This year that day is December 11. I don't do the shareware thing because I lost my interest in gaming a long time ago and do not find the prospect of debugging someone else's work all that edifying. You see, I debug my own stuff as a rule.
Regardless, when it comes to freeware, shareware or some other public domain offering I don't hold shareware to any standard and if it's your thing I think you should go for it !
Happy International Shareware Day !
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- December 10, 2022
- Festival for the souls of dead whales 2022
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The whale is a majestic giant of the deep. I have seen them in the North Atlantic long ago while I was in the Navy and again migrating South off the West coast as a gringo tourista at large.
I have heard the song of the whale coming through hydrophone though I could not understand what was being said. It was sped up several times before I could even make out the sound itself.
I have wondered just why Japan, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland think all the whales in the ocean belong to them.
I personally find the idea of eating marine mammals repugnant.
They think hanging the word "research" on the side of a ship makes it legal for any level of abuse. For this alone their pirate ships should be sunk on sight.
I think a couple more Hiroshimas and Nagasakis would be a fair lesson to these abusers of those denizens of the oceans.
Today is The Festival for the Souls of the Dead Whales. It happens each December 10.
The day is set aside to memorialize all the souls of the whales who died from whaling operations and other harmful encroachments into their habitats by Japan, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland who should be collectively and severely sanctioned themselves that they might know precisely what it's like.
I feel that whales should be excused from providing economic impact to countries like Japan, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland which should have their fleets sunk with extreme prejudice for their selfish over indulgence in the taking of marine mammals in particular for their own selfish ends.
Boo Japan, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland !
See Also:
Another Earth Day
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- December 9, 2022
- National Tie Month 2022
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I have a stupendous neck tie collection. There are some 60 or so mostly unadventurous examples hanging on a large tiered rack in my wardrobe. They were amassed during years of employment whereby wearing a tie was either required or desirable.
You'd be surprised at the subtle hints people will make when they think you are "underdressed". It's as though they don't fully understand you are both superior to them in every way and have the ability to make them spit teeth.
My tie collection ranges from finest silk through various other "lesser" cloths and exhibit varying degrees of skillful stitching with a variety of threads both matching and contrasting ...
I have a few vintage ties as well — things you seldom see and cannot purchase anymore thrown into the mix. Most of the garments are "thin" ties. I was never a fan of the oldie but goodie fat ties people once wore routinely. I called them 'bibs'.
The patterns range from ultra conservative solids through various patterns through the somewhat whimsical.
The requirement of neckwear was relative to that public eye one occupied ... and the desirability had more to do with impressions and presenting what the cohorts felt was a competent image. All-in-all, for one who resisted dressing for work as adamantly as I the situation kind of fell into alignment of it's own accord. There comes a time when your personal opinion means less to you than that image being attempted collectively.
I think I just grew weary of the constant fashion fray.
December is National Tie Month, devoted to paying homage to the cravat; that band of cloth typically found around the necks of persons considering dress to be a part of their daily lives. Though I can no longer recall the last time I donned a tie — I used to be such a man simply because it was aspects to that image too many others expected of me at work.
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- December 8, 2022
- Happy Birthday Ann Coulter 2022
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Ann Coulter has been someone I have listened to over the years. Likely it is that similarity between our interpretations and opinions that instigated this interest. She was the first person to engage in political commentary which interested me ...
But it's pretty much been a rocket ride since then. She is conservative and has a way with words to be envied.
Ann Hart Coulter was born December 8, 1961. She works as an author, conservative media pundit, syndicated columnist, and attorney.
Her first foray into politics was in the late 90s and involved calling the Clintons out during their administration for various crimes and misdemeanors which stil go on with Hillary.
She has written 13 some odd books and writes a syndicated column which appears in newspapers and the conservative media.
Public perception appears to be she is decidedly antifeminist — a characteristic one might expect from somone who can hold her own in any manner of public eloqution and discourse.
She is single and has no children. Her most notable squeeze was a liberal democrat. It surely must be due to the attraction between opposites!
I would consider her to be a denizen of Palm Beach, Florida because this is where she casts her votes although she owns residences in Manhattan and Los Angeles.
All in all she is one hell of a woman and I will continue to follow her with great interest in the foreseeable future as the tour de force she is.
Some favorite quotes from Ann Coulter
Happy Birthday Ann Coulter !
A word to those of you out there who have yet to be offended by something I have said: Please be patient. I am working as fast as I can.
When your party is controlled by a billionaire rootless international financier who expresses 'no sense of guilt' for collaborating with the Nazis, you might want to ease up on lecturing the rest of us about the evil rich.
There are a lot of bad republicans; there are no good democrats.
The Klan sees the world in terms of race and ethnicity. So do Liberals.
There is no surer proof of Christ's divinity than that he is still so hated some two thousand years after his death.
The fundamental difference is that conservatives think man is created in God's image. Liberals think they [themselves] are gods - they want to create utopia on Earth with wealth redistribution, breaking the bonds of marriage and ties between parents and a child.
In the druidical religion of liberalism, not separating your recyclables is a sin, but abourtion is just a medical procedure.
Liberals want the family destroyed, they want religion destroned, because then you have loyalty directly to the state.
"Diversity" is a difficulty to be overcome, not an advantage to be sought. True, America does a better job than most at accommodating a diverse population. We also do a better job at curing cancer and containing pollution. But no one goes around mindlessly exclaiming: "Cancer is a strength!" "Pollution is our greatest asset!
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- December 7, 2022
- Pearl Harbor Attack 80 Years Ago Today
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The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii just prior to 8 am eliminating neutrality and thrusting the Republic into World War II.
The unprovoked nature of this attack left a profound impact on the collective memory of the nation which has not been forgotten to date.
There are many memorials in remembrance and many more observances and ceremonies marking the day of infamy have been held.
My Daddy was laid to rest on Pearl Harbor Day in 2001 at Clinton United Methodist Church cemetery at Salley, SC his home town.
The date is even more profound and an item of personal saddness in my memory for this reason.
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- December 6, 2022
- Clickbait is a Pervasive Web Technology
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While perusing the web as I typically do for an hour or so most evenings I am dismayed at the prevalence of click bait web sites that spread their miniscule data over many pages in order to fit as many adverts as humanly possible in your face.
The disdain I feel for this rationale has forced me to forego ads on my sites in favor of a content based approach devoid of that bullshit google places above all else.
As a matter of fact, google and the rest of the ad companies masquerading as search engines can go catch the plague as far as I am concerned.
Everyone from the top of the alphabet heirarchy to the lowest whale shit from india under their employ can simply die as far as I am concerned.
My reasons are thus:
There is no "happy medium" in the equation. There is no attempt to balance entertainment with ad content. There is simply ad content and more ad content til all you want to do is strangle the bastards who cause it. It's like marginal content draped in meaningless advertising for products that likely won't be purchased. Then there is a quarter page graf of this marginal at best content surrounded by a wall of ads in an infuriating Hollywood Squares layout ad nauseum.
Poof. The world could be a better place with the scourge removed from the internet. These people could at least provide a little decent content with their primary thrust of advertising.
See Also:
Opinion and Paywalls and Clickbait Oh My !
Clickbait Everywhere
The Monetized Web Presence
The Barrage of Holiday Spam
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- December 5, 2022
- National Blue Jeans Day 2022
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I had a Blue Jeans phase, but it was long ago.
It was a time when I was a computer hardware guy working in support of the medical profession.
I didn't feel it was my duty to get all prepped out to drag around large pieces of hardware, change filters and other consumables and service them otherwise in the grime that went along with them under desks and in ceiling tiles — though my good friend and cohort the late great Mike West — who passed in 2003 — always wore a three piece suit at work though we pretty much did the same things.
Yet another I have missed over the years.
Mine was t-shirt and blue jeans attire. I felt it was appropriate enough but took the heat for it constantly.
As the years evolved my tastes changed and I finally reached the dress shirt and tie phase which carried me through the last third of my career. I don't think the attire helped my job performance but I received considerably less whining from people who felt they owned me.
Today is National Blue Jeans Day. It goes down each December 5 in recognition of that pillar of the western fashionista, denim jeans.
It is said that each American owns about seven pairs of jeans. I'm considerably below the trend line at zero pairs in my wardrobe at this time.
Chalk it all up to how I dress these days. I simply have not been inspired to go out and obtain a pair of denim anything for a long time now.
My favorite aspect of denim clothing is the durability of the cloth. My least favorite aspect of denim clothing is the look, which I find to be somewhat tacky in those circles I tend to frequent anymore.
Retirement is a fickle place, huh.
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- December 4, 2022
- Aline Kominsky-Crumb RIP
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There was a time in my early adult development I call my "head phase". This was a time of various states of altered consciousness brought on by the recreational drug habits of that time. Those days ended some 30 years back ... right about the time employers went drug testing crazy.
I was determined that some stupid habit of mine was NOT going to keep me from earning a living. So I ceased all recreational drugs except alcohol at that moment. Alcohol consumption was stopped a year or so later.
I have always enjoyed detailed and well executed graphics. I once consumed them voraciously as a past time. During this era in my life I became a big fan of Robert Crumb and his wife Aline. They were wed in 1978 while I was still active duty Navy. I termed them as "underground" or "alternative" media artists. That realism they imparted to their pages was astounding.
As you might guess, Robert Crumb is a difficult man to get to know — much less fully understand — but such is the nature of extreme talents. He migrated to France with his family to live in a house in a medevial village after trading a couple of notebooks of his work for the property.
Aline Kominsky Goldsmith Crumb was born in Long Beach, New York on August 1, 1948 and passed this earthly existence last Thursday on November 29, 2022 at her home in Sauve, Gard, France. She was 74 years of age. I always had the impression that she and her husband were soulmates.
I also found Aline Crumb to be more personable and interactive than Robert but both of these people are very special to my existence for those aspects of their work I was privileged to admire — however from afar it all was.
Mrs Crumb leaves her husband and a child named Sophie Crumb who has followed in her parents illustrious footsteps. She and her half brother from a previous relationship of Roberts exhibit prodigious graphic art talent.
Rest in peace.
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- December 3, 2022
- National Roof Over Your Head Day 2022
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I've always been grateful to have a roof over my head. There was a time long ago when I didn't think it would ever happen.
Had my parents not intervened on my behalf it likely wouldn't have. I am thankful to them for all they have done for me.
Your house is that place where you can lower your shields and relax. It's a place for assuming comfort and pursuing those things which interest you. These days I occupy myself with a server cluster and 5 node network where I place my technical assets for use and consumption by those I choose.
It's a privacy thing.
Today is National Roof Over Your Head Day. It happens each December 3rd and follows the Thanksgiving holiday — that other day of thanks — and is a time to be thankful for what is yours ... beginning with the roof over your head. There are many less fortunate than I who do not have this basic need ... which includes food and clothing, that of shelter.
So I am content with my state of being and have no need to worry about things I do not yet possess.
Happy National Roof Over Your Head Day and on this day I hope you are as content as I.
See Also:
National Roof Over Your Head Day 2021
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- December 2, 2022
- World Computer Literacy Day 2022
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This used to be one of my main thrusts in life. Having been a computer instructor for 20 years in the state system I was tasked with taking a class through basics and imparting as much of what I know about computers and information management as I could during that time I was presenting.
Sometimes the results were spectacular. Other times no so much.
Anyway the director ended up running me off because she forced me into a situation for which I was unprepared.
So rather than teach a course for which I didn't know the material because I was not permitted to prepare — I resigned and that was that. I never looked back, either. I would no longer be controlled by someone I considered to be stupid.
Today is World Computer Literacy Day. It happens each year on December the second. It was created by an Asian Indian organiation called N.I.I.T in 2001 in honor of their 20th anniversary and as a vehicle for the increase of computer literacy among those less served in the field, particularly women and children.
Having been working in the field otherwise since the late 1970s I don't feel that computers are going anywhere. If you are somewhat less than computer literate this day is for you. So try to grasp something each day and ultimately you will collect a skill set of which you may be proud.
Happy World Computer Literacy Day and I hope that you escape the total idgits I encountered during my career.
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- December 1, 2022
- National Christmas Lights Day 2022
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Well the holiday season is simply flying past me. With the advent of December I feel as though I'm making that final approach to New Years Eve and the break prior to Passover.
December the first is National Christmas Lights Day and though I'm ready and waiting for Christmas Eve and the rest of the holiday season I'm glad I switched out the blog holiday rotator a couple days back.
So I hope your're getting in the spirit. I've been trying to get Mom in the spirit too so we set up a little fiber optic tree at her place and it looks very festive when we light it off and let it sparkle and shine.
So light up your lights — seeing how it Tis the season !
Happy National Christmas Lights Day to you and yours.
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- November 30, 2022
- Attack of the Wireless Pirates
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I've had a spate of unauthorized wireless attempts lately.
It would seem that there are those nearby who want to try and hack my access passcode and get into some free broadband.
While I don't view this behavior as particularly "offensive" it is interesting to note that with MAC address authentication the kiddies probably will never be successful.
The term "MAC address" refers to a 48-bit hexadecimal address used to identify a device on the planet. Much of the address resolution involved in networking goes into determining that address for operations.
Said to be "unique on the planet", many network card and other hardware manufacturers use a unique sequence at the beginning of those MAC addresses assigned to their products.
Couple this with an ungodly SSID and the probability of a successful hack is even more nil than it already is.SSID stands for Service Set IDentifier and is the network name. These are the names you see if you open the list of Wi-Fi networks on your Wi-Fi equipped workstation, notebook, or phone.
I have 3 SSIDs all of which require a router side MAC address assignment and the proper entry of that previously mentioned ungodly passcode up front.
Couple this with breach attempt detection logic and the fact that an intruder has to already be on the private network to configure anything and all manner of intrusion becomes quite the lofty goal.
Good luck and ahoy matey.
[WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC AE:1D:91:DD:7E:60, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 19:29:08 [WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC AE:1D:91:DD:7E:60, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 19:28:24 [WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC FA:A3:9B:02:3D:13, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 14:17:53 [WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC FA:A3:9B:02:3D:13, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 13:22:57 [WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC FA:A3:9B:02:3D:13, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 13:07:02 [WLAN access rejected: incorrect credentials] from MAC FA:A3:9B:02:3D:13, Sunday, Nov 27,2022 12:28:47
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- November 29, 2022
- Electronic Greetings Day 2022
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Yeah, here's one of those socially aware days of which I'm not really a participant.
Electronic greetings are a cultivar of the internet early on and some of those sources of these cards and such are really creative with their animations and best wishes.
So while these digital greetings wonders aren't my forte nowadays I did have a brief spate with them way back when.
I can't even remember my first JibJab greeting but this illustrious example was so long ago and only scratches the surface of what's available.
Nowadays I will send a graphic I created for the blog along with a personal greeting in an email and call it a day.
My days of Graphic Animation System for Professionals long being past it's that time in my life to keep my thoughts primarily to myself and share with those only most close to me these days.
Digital media are what Electronic Greetings Day is all about. If you're so inclined send something to someone.
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