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- September 24, 2021
- Consumer Cellular Liars
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Mom has recently been forced to cut ties with Consumer Cellular. She had done business with them for a very long time but the final straw was the last of a long series of lies they told her.
It seems that an AARP promotion for 'unlimited' data was actually a plan with a 30 gb cap.
So Mom was blissfully pursuing her streaming thing only to arrive at an abrupt halt when the so-called "unlimited" ran out and they stopped her "unlimited" bandwidth.
This of course was on top of the lack of any records in the form of logs provided showing actual data use which was highly suspect given their handling of business otherwise — and the sad tale was pretty much a deal breaker for her.
I will personally not renew my AARP membership over this unscrupulous immoral incident. They are an equally large thorn in my butt anyway with their incessant snail mail insurance sales pitches ... which is REALLY what AARP is all about. Selling insurance. Then there is their worthless newsletter junk mail.
Consumer cellular and AARP prey on the older people here because the woke ass Biden administration and his lame peabrained "handlers" can't do anything worthwhile being preoccupied with their own tax and spend insanity placing generations to come in hock up to their necks when they're not embarassing us in front of our allies with his cowardice.
She truly has an 'unlimited' data plan (provided by my network) and she doesn't get throttled or cut off at the whim of a company with nothing to offer except misleading broken promises and extremely poor customer support.
The questionable practices she was made to suffer by this group of slugs added to her resolve to move on. She even declined to port her long standing phone number because of it's association with Consumer Cellular.
When all you can do is interact with a never ending stream of stupid liars it's better to part company and gain partnership with an offer of trustworthy high bandwidth service. This is precisely what she has done.
Now Mom has a new phone. Unlimited minutes. Unlimited data. Unlimited wireless connectivity on a gigabit node and voila ... consumer cellular can go get stuffed with their uninformed people pushing pathological lies called "service" and "forthright business practices".
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- September 23, 2021
- International Day of Sign Languages 2021
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I haven't really known any deaf people.
I have encountered and interacted with a few occasionally and by and large the 'handicapped' are not necessarily disabled by any stretch of the imagination.
It is said that lacking any of the five basic senses is compensated by additional acutiy of those which remain.
I have seen evidence of this for myself. My dear grandma Sallie who was functionally deaf could get all manner of conversations correctly til I was the one left dumbfounded.
I have encountered other individuals as well who could take me to task in an instant with intellects and abilities that surpass my own by a long shot.
I feel that something interstitial and compensatory within the person is enabling these skills which I find absent in myself.
Today brings us the relatively new International Day of Sign Languages.
It is celebrated internationally each September 23rd as a function of the International Week of the Deaf.
The date of this event is that which the World Federation of the Deaf was established well before my time in 1951.
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- September 22, 2021
- The Dead Sea Scrolls were initially made available to the public
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The Dead Sea scrolls have piqued my interest in the past. My research into them has left me far less enthusiastic that I once was, however. It would seem that the things I initially saw as a proof of diety are more so a tradition of men. However, I do view them as an interesting religious artifact, scriptural elements, and curiosity.
On this day in 1991 the Dead Sea Scrolls were initially made available to the public. The ancient manuscripts of Jewish and Hebrew derivation were found in the Qumran Caves of the Judaean Desert. They were near the Ein Feshkha nature reserve and archaeological site on the northern shore of the Dead Sea located on the West Bank.
These texts were accidentally found by teenage shepherds from the area and have great historical, religious, and linguistic significance due to their inclusion of the second oldest known surviving manuscripts included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were actually sold in the classified section of newspapers. Almost all of the scrolls are now held by the state of Israel in the Shrine of the Book complex on the grounds of the Israel Museum.
Ownership of the scrolls is also disputed by Jordan and Palestine.
The fragments are some of many found in the Dead Sea area and represent those remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by either natural causes or human inflicted damage and the vast majority have small increments of text. In addition, a small number of almost intact manuscripts have survived.
Authorship of Dead Sea Scrolls has been a subject of protracted debate. Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes. Recent interpreters have challenged the connection and claim that priests in Jerusalem, or Zadokites, or others of the Jewish persuasion wrote the scrolls.
Almost all of the Hebrew Bible is contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hebrew is not the only language of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Most of the texts use Hebrew, with some written in Aramaic and some in regional dialects such as Nabataean with others in Greek.
The media upon which they are written appears primarily to be parchment with some papyrus and one is on copper.
Due to the poor condition of some of the scrolls all of the texts have not been identified. Of those which have been identified there are:
• Hebrew Scriptures • Second Temple Period with their Apocryphal and non canonical texts like the Book of Enoch • Sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents
It is said that the Dead Sea Scrolls include a guide to hidden treasure. The copper scroll includes this but none of the treasure has ever been found. There are varying theories surrounding the veracity of this notion as well.
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- September 21, 2021
- National Pecan Cookie Day 2021
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Yeah, I have this thing for stuff I shouldn't eat. Highly refined carbs for example.
I will scarf up a cookie like nobody's business and wolf it down however it comes, one or many with or without milk.
This has resulted in a degree of corpulence I could never shake and I'm fortunate to have a set of other compensatory health maintenance habits in place or I might already be passed on from my metabolic insufficiencies.
So today we have another National Pecan Cookie Day with all the good things it can bring.
I'm one to go for a cookie when it's offered so bake up a delicious batch of homemade pecan cookies and let's mark National Pecan Cookie Day. Pecans are a healthy nut which provide an excellent source of protein, unsaturated fats, and healthy antioxidants that help reduce cholesterol.
There are many varieties of pecans in the world. Regardless of whether you prefer a nice butter pecan, pecan sandie, caramel pecan bar, orange pecan snickerdoodle, or maple pecan cookies today is the day to enjoy a delicious confection today in observance of National Pecan Cookie Day.
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- September 20, 2021
- Jim Croce passed on this day 48 years ago
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In my youth there was Jim Croce.
He sang those anthems of my era consisting of the "common man" thematic elements with which I always identified.
The adage that the good die young was entirely too appropos here for he died as the result of a light airplane crash into a tree during takeoff in Louisiana on September 20, 1973.
I was about seventeen and a half years of age. I had graduated high school some 4 months previously and was still preoccupied in this fantasy world of my own concoction which would grip me for another decade.
The worse part was it was on the eve of the release of his fifth album and 1973 single of I Got a Name which was recorded by Jim Croce with lyrics by Norman Gimbel and music by Charles Fox.
Jim Croce is interred at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer, Pennsylvania.
I grieved his passing for a long time pondering all that might have been.
I got a name
Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid
Movin' me down the highway, rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
Like the north wind whistlin' down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud
Movin' me down the highway, rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
And I'm gonna go there free
Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Oh, I know I could share it if you want me to
If you're goin' my way, I'll go with you
Movin' me down the highway, rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
Movin' me down the highway, rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
Performed by Jim Croce
Song by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
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- September 19, 2021
- Cass Elliot of my childhood
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When I was a kid there was that television musical genre revolving around things popular and among these were The Mamas and the Papas.
Cass Elliot was a member of that group and as such I saw her on television frequently during a segment of my young life.
I always thought her powerful voice to be striking and I would take pause to listen at each opportunity.
I had two favorite songs featuring her singing, "Make your own kind of music" and "Dream a little dream of me".
My tastes were innocent then and my experience primarily the AM and early FM radio.
Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen on September 19, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland. She passed from a heart attack in her sleep on July 29, 1974 at Mayfair, London, England.
She was known as "Mama Cass" due to a stint with a musical group called 'The Mamas and the Papas' and was a vocalist who worked as a singer of folk, rock, and sunshine pop music, actress, producer, and of course a member of her singing group.
She had a successful career but wasn't quite where she wanted to be shortly before her passing.
It is said that she died a very happy woman over the grand reception her last performance had received and she had finally made that career turn away from the image of 'Mama Cass' as had been her wish for a long time.
Her final disposition was cremation and her final resting place the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
In 1998 she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas and the Papas.
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
And now to sing this lovely ballad
Here it is
Mama Cass
Stars shinin' bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you"
Birds singin' in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say, "Nighty-night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fadin' but I linger on, dear
Still cravin' your kiss
I'm longin' to linger 'til dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fadin' but I linger on, dear
Still cravin' your kiss
I'm longing to linger 'til dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
performed by The Mamas and the Papas
Songwriters: Andre Fabian, Kahn Gus, Schwandt Wilbur
lyrics © Gilbert Keyes Music Company, Emi Music Publishing Ltd, Tro Essex Music Ltd, Words & Music Inc
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- September 18, 2021
- Stupid People on Youtube
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A week back Ben Stein, who I respect as an intellect and man of uncommon good sense wrote about being suspended from YouTube for a week and having a podcast cancelled with extreme prejudice by them.
After viewing the 'offending' video I agreed with him that the act was uncalled for and likely the action of some uneducated libtard indoctrinate of the public school system or worse ... an entire committee of these jerkwad morons.
I for one would never tolerate the first occurrence of this overreach by a stupid god complex organization thinking they must rule you as though they own you.
Now then, you who tolerate such nazi tactics by a company no one should utilize deserve just what you get.
Censorship is their thing. They wield it like some self indulgent unrighteous saber attempting to control public opinion by eliminating dissenting viewpoints. They think they own you and your content and worse —
They seem to view themselves as controllers of the opinions world.
They hang their 30 pieces of silver before your judas faces and you abandon every aspect of integrity you may have had for their monitization of your existence.
There is NO such thing as a youtube 'star' as far as I am concerned. Just youtube coconspirators in that fascist unamerican censorship they bring to bear on any whim which crosses their turd-filled minds.
They claim that they are not a public forum after starting up as one. They think they may make the rules that control you as they go along.
These hooligans should be stricken from the record as the overbearing waste product that they are.
I for one do not utilize Youtube for any reason.
Keep giving them your assets for monitization dollars a$$holes. You deserve every censorship they lay on you.
Fück all users of Youtube. You're getting that for which you're asking.
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- September 18, 2021
- National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day 2021
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I remember when AIDS hit the scene for me personally.
I was traveling by rental car down the 405 in LA in 1980 or so when Dr Stephen C Lloyd, an internist and computer scientist who was driving brought the topic up and it was one that intrigued me superficially until that time I became more aware of the consequences of contracting this 'plague'.
I also recall a spate of dark humor it invoked within me and I had what seemed to be a never ending string of jokes regarding AIDS and it's victims — because it all seemed so distant ... so far from me and who I was and those I knew in the world.
Now that I am older and much water has passed under the bridge I am less likely to invoke humor when speaking of AIDS. I have seen the effects on people and their families and it simply no longer strikes me as a laughing matter.
I don't know if it's a state of diminished callousness on my part ...
Or simply a function of maturation. Much of that which I once thought to be "funny" now either isn't or just pisses me off anymore.
Funny how immense suffering of those you don't even know can remove humor from a topic of discussion.
In the United States September 18 brings us another National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day.
It is an observance held under the auspices of The AIDS Institute.
The day makes note of the growing number of people living long and full lives with HIV as well as their health and social needs.
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- September 17, 2021
- Cassandra Peterson has been a favorite
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One of those long time favorites of mine is Cassandra Peterson.
She portrayed a fictional vampire named Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and did a slew of B movie intros in her magnificant black goth outfit ...
Yes Elvira's Movie Macabre was a favorite diversion in my days of ridiculous lectures and writing on a white board all day.
She was born in Manhattan, Kansas of all places on September 17, 1951 — but is a product of a Colorado Springs, Colorado raising.
Her career began at age 17 billed as the youngest showgirl in Vive Les Girls" at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. She got career advise from Elvis Presley and took it from there. Cassandra Peterson has spent over three decades as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and she is now quite the cult icon of the macabre in a very funny vein.
Today is the lovely lady's birthday. Happy birthday and many more.
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- September 16, 2021
- The Montreal Protocol 2021
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On this day in 1987 The Montreal Protocol was signed, ostensibly to protect the ozone layer from depletion. However the atmosphere is not following the protocol and like so much international and UN in particular bull crap it has pretty much been a failure and a waste of time and money.
The Montreal Protocol is yet another aspect of world management with which the United Nations should have never been allowed to become involved. The organization wants a safer world so that they can flourish after they finsh killing all of you with their agenda 2030 'sustainability' which involves green areas equiped with weapons platforms whereby they can be maintained as kill zones in the event that the unauthorized feel the need to utilize "public"` areas.
The UN wants to establish itself as a world police force so that they may bully nations who surrender their sovereignty in favor for the lies they propagate as a matter of daily existence.
The WHO organization aided and abetted China in their attempt to kill world populations with their Wuhan COVID-19 virus which continues to mutate across the globe.
I am already weary of these stupid organizations seeing only what they want to see and look forward to the day when the United States exits the UN permanently and throws the leeches out of New York.
I'd be quite okay if some industrious forward thinking nation chose to nuke china as well.
Boo China continual seeker of ill gotten gains and international supremecy.
Boo UN criminals who would take over the world and kill us in the name of 'sustainability'.
Boo Montreal Protocol failures ... don't you wish the climate would cooperate.
Boo World Health Organization cowards who lead the world astray at every opportunity.
Keep your marxist socialist communist intellectual property freeloading globalist asses within your own borders.
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- September 15, 2021
- Norm Macdonald passed on September 14th
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It was sad to note the passing of Norm Macdonald, comedian and Saturday Night Live alum who also did various cameos and comedy roles over the years.
I was always amused by his matter of fact presentation and some of his material was risque and hilarious.
Norman Gene Macdonald was born in Canada on October 17, 1959 and became a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his deadpan style.
He wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio.
He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five years. He anchored the Weekend Update segment for three seasons.
After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001.
In 2013 he began a video podcast called Norm Macdonald Live which was primarily an interview show featuring comedians and other celebrities.
He also appeared in numerous movies and was a guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show. He also did voice acting work for animated television.
Norm Macdonald died from cancer in Los Angeles on September 14, 2021, at age 61.
He had been diagnosed with the disease nine years prior but did not diclose his condition publicly.
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- September 15, 2021
- close, but no ip geolocation cigar
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So google has made my ip geolocation much more accurate these days.
Instead of being some 230 miles of inaccuracy the ip geolocation is now just 7.61 miles off ...
BUT it's still not near the level of accuracy to which I hold myself in calculations, particularly when they involve clients of mine.
Such is the lackadaisical attention to detail and accuracy when it's not YOUR data being displayed and you could give a rip about the client being represented incorrectly.
A vendor providing unsatisfactory information should be held accountable. This is not happening either.
My issue with all this revolves around so many absolutely correct ip geolocation queries viz a viz the gd search engines and gd walmart among stupid others.
I will never stop whining about this. They don't even use the whois database for static subnets.
All I can really do is make those I hold responsible take hits in the public sector. So every time I see your logo on the screen of a machine someone is begging me to fix I'm going to walk out and leave the machine broken and tell them to call google to fix it.
Spectrum likewise is going to take hits over this because I don't value them either due to this scenario.
They say it's YOU google. I know it's not, but ...
Boo anyway. You could order the problem to be fixed by your vendor. You could access the whois database yourself. But you don't.
The situation remains improved however. It also remains infuriating.
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- September 14, 2021
- Joey Heatherton of my youth
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Joey Heatherton was a young, taut sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s who piqued my interest with her risque presence in commercial spots and various other appearances during that time when less was known to me and I was intrigued by much.
Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton was born September 14, 1944 and worked as an actress, dancer, and singer. Those television programs which caught my eye were part and parcel of the variety show formats and serials of the time. She appeared on shows that I likely wouldn't watch these days like Route 66, The Virginian, Mr Novak, Bob Hope specials, I Spy, the Jerry Lewis and Jackie Gleason shows, and a smattering of other musical and dramatic venues from my past.
I was always enamored with her during that time because she was lively and attractive and that was what my television viewing habits were all about. She did many USO tours and that garnered respect from me being the patriotic navy brat that I was in my youth. Her work in feature films was less known to me due to my personal viewing habits of that era. I mostly engaged brief offerings on the tube ... superheroes, horror movies, and cartoons primarily.
She had a troubled marriage which left her emotionally scarred and I am sorry for her difficulties. When you live your life in the public eye it seems like you exist on a microscope slide. Everyone has to know your business. I never pursued a career in the public eye for problematic aspects such as these.
Today is her birthday. She is now 76 while I am 66. This would make her 10 years my senior. Happy birthday and I hope her life became everything for which she had hoped after the turmoil ended.
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- September 13, 2021
- Day of the Programmer 2021
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I identify as a "computer person". I typically work with hardware, software, and media in any combination to achieve the ends of that enterprise in which I find myself assuming a support role. More often than not, these duties involve a heavy amount of programming because coding is an integral part of the computing environment.
My working background consists of heavy LAN, WAN, client-server, AI, 4GLs, and expert systems. I presently work in coldfusion, lucee, javascript, perl, and prefer command line interfaces over GUIs. My technical beginnings are rooted in PL/1 and the various xBase dialects until microsoft ruined all of those by buying and suppressing Foxpro in favor of their lamer dotnet mess.
I am what is known as "old school". I was trained in the late 1970s through the early 1980s to believe that if you do not code, you are not a "real" computer person. Nowadays, there are many working in the field of information technology who cannot code. Old school proponents of technology such as myself are likely to scoff at them and view them as "unskilled" interlopers into the field.
Today is the Day of the Programmer. It is a professional recognition day held annually on the 256th or the 28th day of each year. This equates to September 13 during common years and September 12 during leap years.
It is officially recognized in Russia. Not so much here in the United States.
The date chosen is a function of numerology utilized in coding. The number 256 (28) was chosen because it is the number of distinct values that can be represented with a byte, a value well known to programmers. 256 is also the highest power of two that is less than 365, the number of days in a common year.
This particular day was proposed by software company employees Valentin Balt and Michael Cherviakov. They tried to gather signatures for a petition to the government of Russia to recognize the day as the official Day of the Programmer from around 2002.
The Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media issued a draft of an executive order on a new professional holiday, Day of the Programmer on July 24, 2009. The President of Russia, one Dmitry Medvedev, signed the decree the following September 11th.
In China, programmer's day is October 24. This has been established for many years. The date was chosen because it can also be written as 1024, which is equal to 210. In the real life, 1024 usually considered a thousand. It is also consistent regardless of leap years. Unfortunately the chinese computer people by and large are unscrupulous and immoral and will steal any and all intellectual property of which they may come into contact. This is why they should not be allowed into the United States.
Regardless of your technical status in the field of information technology, performing operations in the absence of coding makes you a lesser entity in the field from the standpoint of we old school practitioners and workers therein. Though the evolution of the IT department is leaning toward acceptance of the non coding worker, they will always be viewed as technically deficient to many ... until we all die off.
Happy Day of the Programmer to you too.
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