Welcome
- October 5, 2017
- Online Hate Doesn't Faze Me
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Cnet has quite a little library of articles discussing various aspects of online hate going. I was clicking around on them and then I came to Here's the brutal reality of online hate by one Terry Collins back on July 11 of this year.
It delved into the various harrassment and mean spirited hateful treatment leveled at one of our Jewish netizens and I was aghast with some of verbiage which described how low some people will stoop to engage the base treatment of another human being.
I have a unique perspective in this regard because during my life some of my best friends have been Jews and therefore I have not had any issues personally with anyone of that persuasion.
Me, I also decline to stoop to such levels of depravity in my expression because I was a "late bloomer" so to speak and spent earliest adulthood being obnoxious and oblivious only to come to the realization that I should "straighten up and fly right" if I wanted to make it in civilized society.
Civility did not become a component of my personality til sometime around age 28. I use that age as a milestone because it represents that time im my life I first considered my actions "stupid" and realized that for the years prior I had been behaving thusly yet did not have the realization that indeed I was stupid.
I suppose when you're stupid you don't realize it at all. This was the case with me.
The ugly truth of the matter is there are others just as vile and filled with vitriol towards their fellow people who retain this orientation through much of their entire existence and I was determined that this would not be the case in my life.
So no, there will be no animal mutilations. No I'm not going to troll anyone and call them names or hurt them as do some anonymous, characterless cyberbully. And no, there will be no profanity laced interactions or pushing, shoving, hitting or any other act of violence.
This has little to nothing to do with that esteem I may or may not feel for another person. It is simply a reflection of the Dave born on his 28th year who decided that the bar was too low and a higher standard was indicated for that person who is me.
I may not be the handsome young blond curly haired Tarzan of my youth; but that which I have become is someone I can look in the eye unashamed of that which I have become.
I don't think purveyors of online hate can really think this in the absence of some distorted reality in which they exist.
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- October 4, 2017
- World Animal Day
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I have been taught that there are two types of animals on the planet.
There are the "companion animals" which serve to provide comfort via their actions, being, and states of being for those humans who have include them in their lives. The status of who is owner "owner" and who is "owned" has been raised repeatedly by these individuals in my presence as well.
Then there is the "food animal" which is raised for slaughter without other considerations by and large.
The boundaries are sometimes blurry and the "food animal" becomes a de facto "companion animal" during the course of it's raising making that time it fulfills it's role as food more difficult for those left to handle the practical matters of preparation.
I personally am not a proponent of animal rights. I do not really view the dumb animal as an entity which has inherent moral or legal entitlement to certain treatment and/or disposition.
Likewise, I understand that I rapidly assume the minority in this attitude and indeed, I fully understand the attachments of humans to animals at various levels and callousness and that cruelty which often accompanies it are not components of who I am.
I will go to great lengths to afford an animal passage or safety yet still become vehemently opposed to the neighborhood cats coming over to my yard to take a dump. Go figure.
Today is World Animal Day, an international observance of animal rights and welfare which comes around each fourth of October. This corresponds to the feast of Francis of Assisi who is the patron saint of animals.
The aim of this day is to raise the status of animals in order to improve their standards of welfare internationally. It is part and parcel of the animal welfare movement in an attempt to make the world a better place for the animals which dwell here.
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- October 3, 2017
- Regurgitating the Equifax Breach
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I've been going over a few of the articles on various venues regarding the Equifax data breach which caused the release of 143 million American consumers personal data with little to no consequences for the company.
The Equifax people are whining about security measures not working and people problem failures but in the end the breach remains and we were all betrayed and still those consequences remain minute or non existent.
My personal feelings regarding the matter include throwing everyone above middle management against a wall and giving them that firing squad they so richly deserve. They also include the notion that perhaps servers in a DMZ containing such critical data might have been hardened much more BEFORE the fact instead of afterwards.
Had the personal data been transferred from a deeply secure repository to an edge server requiring packet transfers over verified connections known to the server beforehand, had spoofing not been possible over the IP networks, and certainly had somebody picked up a gd phone and spoken to someone once in a while perhaps these things may have either been mitigated or prevented.
As it stands nothing is really secure. Our social security numbers are used as primary identification numbers in too many avenues unrelated to social security, and we need the stupid global orientation imparted by the UN to go away and allow us to pursue our own designs in who gets what on our segment of the internet.
Nobody gets my stuff unless they have an account with a static IP and are known to me up front. I trust little and verify much. I would never give up data in the manner as Equifax and the scoundrels have gotten away with it ... as usual.
There is no punishment too severe for these technotards. Everything in America is retrospect because we never try to get it right up front.
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- October 2, 2017
- So Much for Hygiene Freaks like Me
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I am what may be called a "hygiene freak". I spend an inordinate amount of time in the shower prior to work and have been known to bathe several times on particularly scroungy days ... of which I have a few scattered across the year.
There is something about being fresh and presentable which appeals to me personally, though I typically refrain from criticizing the personal habits of others. It's just after a couple of bad experiences in France while in the Navy has left me a tad on the critical side when it comes to a few matters presented in the public forum over time.
Okay. In an attempt to be somewhat delicate with this particular subject, my eye was caught by a yahoo thingie on fashion — which is not my forte by the way ... with a fashion designer commenting on her 'youthful' appearance and apparently French surroundings. It simply was too much to resist given my history.
Seventy-Six year old British Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood claimed that her secret for 'eternal youth' is not bathing more than once weekly.
"Don't wash too much."
Decidedly younger husband Andreas Kronthaler who is 25 years younger says his elderly sugar momma bathes once weekly and attributes this to her 'radiant appearance' claiming he only washes once monthly ... allegedly joking. It has been my observation that a few Brits and some of the French are notorious for being hygenically challenged.
In particular a raven haired woman working the Russian Orthodox Church located in Nice back in the mid 1970s who had the marked aroma somewhat reminiscent of limburger cheese gone bad.
Perhaps they simply "rubbed off" upon her.
So while I recognize that this person is likely not a 'field hand' chopping cotton or cutting okra all day this notion of not bathing daily is somewhat disconcerting to me at multiple levels ... but to each their own.
While I agree that over bathing can dry out the skin removing sebacious oils essential for maintaining turgor and health of the layers thereof ...
it is my experience that utilizing adequately gentle soap products can permit one to maintain a high degree of hygenic maintenance which includes the one to two showers I pursue daily.
I personally feel that I will never "wash too much." Likewise, just because I'm in an area where bathing may be totally optional I am unlikely to "do as the locals do".
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- October 1, 2017
- The Fall is in Full Swing
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October 1 brings with it the beginning of my personal holiday season commencing with Halloween at the end of the month. Then there are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years to round it all out into the Winter.
I remember when I began to feel all festive this time of year for the first time. The seed was planted in the first grade in Blackfoot Idaho at Irving School when Mama would bring goodies to the class and made me a ghost costume for Halloween. It seems the rapid fire of the following holidays just made the time more special and that feeling has been reinforced over the years.
My recollections of my biological father were of the notion that he had Christmas in his heart. He always was an active participant in the decorations and various activities of that time. I always supposed he got that from his mother, my Grandma Ida. She always had a stupdendous tree happening in her living room and oh how I miss those times of my childhood.
You really have no concept of aging when you're a little kid preoccupied with all that was going on during the holidays. I revisit those times on occasion while collecting my thoughts at day's end.
So the holiday season is kicking in yet again. This will be my 60th some odd iteration and I tell you it's the same as the first inside my heart.
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- September 30, 2017
- International Blasphemy Day
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I was once very religious. Various circumstances in my life have altered that orientation significantly and my late found ambivalance is the subject for a lot of introspection.
Indeed, the Catholic church has over history been perpetrator of massive crimes against humanity in the name of God.
In modern time the charlatans practicing various traditions of men who would claim these are of God have further distanced me from religion in general.
Today is International Blasphemy Day which was created to encourage people to openly criticize religion and blasphemy law internationally.
It came to be in 2009 by a group called Center for Inquiry after being pitched by a student.
It is said that the International Blasphemy Day is not meant to offend but that inasmuch as there is no human right against being offended then that dialog and debate set forth by the day is not an issue for those who began the observance.
The September 30 date coincides with the anniversary of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy whereby offending drawings of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper resulted in a muslum uprising with violent protests and the firebombing of Danish embassies resulting in the deaths of over a hundred people.
While I won't be celebrating I certainly respect the right of others to participate fully in this observance for whatever transcendance or personal enlightenment it may provide.
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- September 29, 2017
- World Heart Day
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World Heart Day is held each September 29 under the auspices of he World Heart Federation, a non governmental Swiss agency which promotes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
They advocate small changes making powerful differences in the risk factors and disease processes themselves.
Their site is full of infographics and warning signs for heart attack and stroke and inasmuch as these two diseases remain the cause of death for most people it's a good idea to place your best foot forward and get attuned to the facts and remain "in the know".
Heart Healthy is more than just a buzz word. It's an attainable goal and way of life. So if you're so inclined mark World Heart Day as one of those meaningful observances people can have with one another.
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- September 28, 2017
- National Good Neighbor Day
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I am not what you would call a "good neighbor". I decline to be that bubbly effusive twit gushing over anything and everything baking goodies for those around me and generally being as nauseating as I can be.
There have been examples of good neighbors in my past ... but it's merely a transient apparition relegated to those far recesses of my memory when I recall all the others with whom I've been "neighbors".
Nothing wrong with being a good neighbor. I'm just not one.
Today is National Good Neighbor Day — a national holiday observed in the United States of America for a while now. Back in the year 2003, the annual day it is celebrated was changed to September 28. It had previously been observed on the fourth Sunday in September.
The creation of one Becky Mattson of Lakeside, Montana in the early 1970s it typifies those early post-1960s efforts to network and was an attempt to exemplify the importance of neighbors and being a "good" one in particular.
President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4601 establishing it's observance on September 24, 1978. The Senate passed a resolution by Montana Senator Max Baucus to designate September 26 as National Good Neighbor Day. So here we sit on the cusp of what has been a cluster of good neighbor days about to go for it once again !
So happy good neighbor day, neighbor !
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- September 22, 2017
- Autumn Equinox
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- September 18, 2017
- National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAD)
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.jpg "National HIV AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAD)")
I once viewed HIV and AIDS as existing remote from my existence.
I had felt as though the affectation had been avoided by me personally, i.e., that I had "dodged the bullet" so to speak until that fateful day that I learned in my late fifties that my childhood best friend had passed from the diease when we were 40 or so.
This ended my search for him abruptly and sadly for I understood the suffering he endured toward the end and he was a fine, polite, well-read, and urbane man who brought a lot to the table as it were whenever he was present and whatever he was doing.
Though I have been accused of being homophobic more than once — and despite the fact that I have spoken disdainfully of all things queer on multiple occasions, despite knowing those disease vectors —
That remorse of missing my chance to speak with him one last time remains with me to this day.
Today is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAD) which is held each September 18th under the auspices of The AIDS Institute.
It's focus are those risks and challenges facing an ever aging population regarding the prevention of HIV, it's testing, and therapeutics for those who may become infected with the viruses which cause AIDS.
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- September 17, 2017
- Harry Dean Stanton RIP
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Harry Dean Stanton
July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017
American Character Actor, Singer, Musician
One of those quintessential character actors who spoke volumes in few words for all those years I've been alive was Harry Dean Stanton, who passed day before yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 91 years young.
I cannot count the appearances by him I have enjoyed over the years. From his indie start through his mainstream teevee cameos he remains one of my favorite role players of all time spanning genre after genre, time periods, and depths of portrayal.
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- September 16, 2017
- National Guacamole Day
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Guacamole. Mashed avocado with seasonings, onion, tomatoes, and chili peppers chopped up and interspersed into the mixture then served with chips or as a condiment on various hispanic delicacies of which I have grown so fond over the years.
Today is National Guacamole Day in the United States. Though I don't really envision this a day declared by congressional decree; I will take a moment to declare my love for this flavorful addition to most anything wrapped in a tortilla ... like tacos, burritos and so forth.
A couple weeks back I was at salsarita's off Chris Drive and ordered two burritos and told them "don't forget the guac" even though it added dollars to the check. Some things are absolutely required. When guacamole is done well it is a taste sensation I add to just about everything.
It's a dip, it's a spread,
it's a salad, it's a condiment ...
Happy National Guacamole Day to all you Tex-Mex, Cali-Mex, and simply Mex food lovers out there.
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- September 15, 2017
- World Lymphoma Awareness Day
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I have lost a number of friends and acquaintances to lymphoma. In retrospect, it is surprising to note those numbers in my mind and to remember those once smiling faces who are no longer with us.
Lymphoma is a cancer which arises from the uncontrolled growth of white blood cells (lymphocytes). These abnormal cells deviate from their normal life cycle and spread instead of existing functionally and then dying in the manner of a normal cell.
It's frequency is said to be on the rise.
There are a lot of different types of lymphomas which ultimately come under two main types called "Hodgkin" and "non-Hodgkin".
The most common is Non-Hodgkin lymphoma which affects the T and B cells of the immune system.
Hodgkin lymphoma is characterised by cells known as Reed-Sternberg.
Hodgkin lymphomas is most common in male children and young adults and has various courses, morbidity, and prognoses.
It is sometimes relentless with prolonged treatment to no avail.
Today is World Lymphoma Awareness Day, held annually since 2004 by a group known as the Lymphoma Coalition and dedicated to increasing the awareness of lymphoma.
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- September 14, 2017
- Beware the Internet of Things
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IoT has become a phenomenon of late.
There is the good, the bad, and the ugly interspersed throughout this class of appliance which is networked and actively connects to the internet and systems thereon.
The news is replete with horror stories of late with warnings coming from security experts regarding the exploits available to the bottom feeder hacker types which are out to utilize the resources of others for either personal gain or to inflict pain. Such as attempting damage of power grids, reaking havoc on control systems, and other utility oriented targets as consequence and revenge attempts wrought upon the United States by our military industrial complex with it's the false flags and overt meddling by both elements of the government and shadow government out to wage war as a method of generating revenue.
The Internet of Things refers to the ever-growing network of physical objects that feature an IP address for internet connectivity, and the communication that occurs between these objects and other Internet-enabled devices and systems.
The bottom line here is when you place a networked device in your environment there are inherent privacy concerns coupled with an ability for that device to be utilized against you. Perhaps not as an actual threat, but in concert with other such IoT entities under the control of malware and botnets.
Be all of this as it may, were I to acquire a networked piece of equipment not meant for overt inter connectivity I would be quick to ensure it could not venture out or receive of it's own accord. Such a device could never be sold to me under informed consent.
As I don't trust embedded systems complete with wireless connectivity on automobiles I am equally against connected appliances in my home. There is room for manual systems in my life and none for hackable inclusions in my environment.
That's why I hang a sniffer on my router, pour over my logs in great painstaking detail, keep an extensive blacklist, and firewall intruders by entire subnet at the drop of a hat. Any ISP which supports these exploit loving dirtbag colleagues of mine can stay off my network as far as I am concerned.
As evidenced by the incompetence of Experian ... there is too much general access to what's out there because there are few consequences for anything exploited when it's internet related.
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