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- April 30, 2017
- Honesty Day
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I am said to be quite honest anymore. Wasn't always this way. I have been on occasion accused of "unnecessary brutality" in my honesty in my personal effort to get through to others ... and as distressing as that is I persist in being who I am.
We live in a world of liars. Our government and the military and NASA in particular suppress knowledge of the universe and even the world in the form of doctored photographs, declaring certain activities weather phenomena or "weather balloons" when they're not ... and a variety of surreptitious dealings with the tax payer when they should be forthcoming on all aspects.
Then we have governmental super structures such as that which occupies the vast dimensions beneath Denver Airport and other hidden construction which they treat as none of our business yet require us to fund.
Then there are those strange bedfellows called politicians and their supporters who would allow the ruination of the country if it will permit them to regain control of anything and everything political and particularly our executive branch.
Then the fact that the President of the United States is quite low on the "totem pole" of rank is probably the most disturbing obscured truth of them all.
What should be the pinnacle is somewhere in the middle of that heirarchy which is the military industrial complex with all the subterfuge, falsehoods, and murder that goes along with it.
Today is Honesty Day, meant to encourage honesty and forthright communications in all aspects of life from interpersonal relations through politics, consumerism, and probably most importantly historical references.
We have so many who want to revise history to the point that what has ocurred is stricken from the record. We have groups of the descendents of slaves claiming right to reparations when the Jews certainly didn't (and won't) get any from the Egyptians.
A dose of real world and the truth is in order. What better day than "honesty day" to begin ?!
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- April 29, 2017
- Trump first 100 Days
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NPR had a web article on Trump and his supporters and opposition.
They pointed out that he still has wide support by those who turned out to vote for him with some loss of support by moderates and independents ... and the ever present "approval" rating poll was mentioned in the discussion.
In that fray which is any presidential election how can an electorate fault the results between a cocky billionaire businessman and a toss-up between a politician who would have placed her office and influence for sale as well as a unrealistic ne'er do well socialist making pie in the sky promises he could never keep as a practical reality to those fools who supported his worthless candidacy.
Trump is already missing his "old life" and I don't blame him. Until he assumed the presidency he was accustomed to issuing orders which were followed to the letter. Nowadays he has to negotiate with a lot of republicans who would defy the party line for some namby pamby pork barrel progressive stance and the true problems which are the dole crazy democrats out to entitle every illegal alien they can find and the progressives who would rob from the worker and give to the shirker.
I'm glad Trump won. If Clinton had won she would have continued the steep downward spiral initiated by the abomination called Obama. If Trump can keep the progress steady "no decline" is much preferable to that steep decline we were headed for at the hands of another Clinton in office.
The Presidency should not be for sale and Mr Trump is not for sale, compared to his competition in the race he won.
First 100 days of Trump's presidency ? Far better than how we would have fared with a Clinton or Sanders at the helm.
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- April 28, 2017
- Facebook: tragic drama in real time
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Been too much in the threads about murders and suicides recorded live on Facebook for the horror of those who happen to be viewing the feed ...
Yes I am sure that the folks at facebook would just as soon not be such an outlet. The surprising thing is the cruelty some have shown for others, even helpless baby girls by their fathers.
In the sum total of who we are how do we balance real time video servers with a need for content vetting ? The problem certainly isn't time delay so much as that people problem of too few eyes to place on the feeds.
Were it possible to monitor so many simultaneous video transmissions such as that methodology used in malls back before brick and mortar retail begain failing. Rows and columns of monitors with some security guard fellow watching ... scanning for skullduggery.
I simply can't see that scenario as ever being practical. Perhaps with the advent of AI sufficient to the task the stream can be monitored for patterns with raise suspicion and then call attention to those eyes for verification.
All I know is too many sick individuals are out there and they aren't all in California anymore. How to balance accountability in a litigious world hell bent on making a buck regardless of how tragic the circumstances.
Once upon a time animal cruelty was the big thrill video on social media. Now we have evolved to full blown people cruelty and the copycats and those out to beat the joneses likely have a lot more depravity in store.
Bless the innocent victims here for they never intended to provide a show. They were just picked out for tragedy, often times by someone they were supposed to be able to trust with that very life stolen from them and broadcast live for the world to see.
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- April 27, 2017
- migration to cashless commerce
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I've been hearing about migration to cashless commerce for quite a while now ... well before I was able to have a bank card and the notion was circulated by those around me who worked in finance.
Well, at long last it seems that the trends are finally leaning in that direction after what must be well over 20 years now.
Reuters has a piece on the trend toward "cashless" society getting closer.
According to a study conducted by a company called Ipsos for the ING bank website eZonomics in 13 European countries, the United States, and Australia — where cash is said to be used most there is a wish to stop using it in preference of electronic fundage with payment cards and the various epays and wallet apps which have proliferated during recent history.
It seem that 38 percent of United States responding as well as 34 percent of those in Europe indicate a willingness to go cash free. In addition, 34 percent of those responding in the United States and 21 percent in Europe claim to "rarely" use cash presently.
The overwhelming trend indication was better than half of the Europeans claim to have used less cash in the past year than previously and 78 percent expected to see cash use diminish even further over the coming year.
Indications also were for economies which are presently using much cash presently were more likely to want to go cashless.
I keep wondering how the panhandlers will get by in a cashless society ...
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- April 26, 2017
- Animal Rights are Relative
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I read a rather odd story about a pet dog who was given a sex change operation when it was discovered to be hermaphroditic. It gave me pause when I remember the options of poor ole Peewee the chihuahua mutt who was taken to the river and dispatched with a .357 magnum when she got cancer.
Often I see references to individuals being jailed for 'animal rights violations' and I keep seeing that junk yard dog which was tossed with a pitchfork by a fellow who thought it was funny at the time — some 45 years ago.
Then there was the mean donkey said to go down via a greased stick of dynamite with a short fuse inserted in it's rectum then lit with explosive results.
The cruelty of others also occasionally was evident in me.
I recall the massive toad hunts of my childhood and now wishing I would encounter a single one of them ... and when it happens I am so careful with them and relocate them to safety even if I must stop what I'm doing to take care of them.
The seagulls for which I had so much contempt in the Navy now would get similar treatment.
It's a sad notion that we can take so much for granted then rue their absence in later life as though it could bring them back.
I for one am not the cruel fellow I was as a kid. I just wish that the animals being mistreated who can't seem to catch a break ultimately do.
I wish that my personal behavior had been better when I was young. You can sometimes think you're going to live forever and that amends are only for the dying.
I suppose we all evolve and some of us live though a lot more retrospect than we might like for this is certainly me. So many regrets to ponder, so much time to relive that which I'd sooner forget.
Animal rights seem to be relative to what is seen and by whom.
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- April 25, 2017
- Apartment Dwellers prefer Broadband and WiFi
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I maintain a fairly high tech domicile compared to most everyone I know, including my cohorts in the technology sector. This includes 40/6 GB broadband and WiFi to which the entire hood regularly attempts to connect. I maintain a server cluster with failover for my mail and web stuff and I have a number of other servers around for things like my security cameras and entertainment appliances.
Then there are the workstations and I have two. One I use exclusively and another for guests should they be in need of access. The guest network cannot communicate with the production network because most of those I accommodate feel the need to try and beat me at my own game ... and this simply would be unseemly.
By and large I get along fairly well in this configuration but notice that I could have doubled the infrastructure and maintained two different networks instead of the class B monstrosity presently installed ... but the copper backbone does well in the gigabit range and I don't really see the need to install the fiber I received as a gift a while back. Perhaps later.
It should be further noted that I have a bodacious washer and dryer setup as well as a dishwasher, jacuzzi, galley style kitchen, and two spare rooms I use for various things other than sleeping quarters.
My point is that hygiene is just as important to me as technology at home and there are few in quite a radius who can match the tech I employ at the crib. It would seem that apartment dwellers of the younger variety prefer the tech to the hygiene according to a survey which made the rounds recently. I'm not really saying it's proper comportment ... only that I understand given the various others with whom I interact who seem to think bathing and laundry are optional.
A survey commissioned by the Comcast Xfinity Communities and conducted by a research firm called Precision Sample found that apartment dwellers are more inclined to have broadband and WiFi as opposed to laundry facilities in their housing units. A smidge over a third responding ranked WiFi as the most important feature in apartment dwelling today with a quarter of them claiming broadband to be the most important. It seems the cable provider was surveying properties with multiple dwelling units in them and 13% of those surveyed said having a washer and dryer in the apartment was the most important factor.
30% believe quality communication services increase property values by at least 20% 88% thought renters in the 18-34 year range prefer high-tech environments more than residents aged 52 years and over 82% claimed to maintain the latest technology in an effort to future-proof properties 60% have improvements for energy efficiency in the works this year
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- April 24, 2017
- Charlie Murphy RIP
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Charles Quinton Murphy Jr
July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017
American comedian, actor, writer, voice artist
In the spirit of worst informed person on the planet, I must admit to ONLY NOW finding out about the passing of Charlie Murphy from leukemia on April 12, 2017. He was 57 years old.
Charlie Murphy was one of my favorite comedians of all time. His flawless timing, articlate and eloquent manner, and 'regular guy' persona just touched a chord in me which persisted throughtout the Chapelle show, where I first encountered him.
Eddie Murphy has lost his older brother and the world has lost quite the stupendous talent.
Rest in peace.
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- April 23, 2017
- When Purchased Software Fails
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When purchased software fails in the absence of support there is a lot of tense troubleshooting along with the various drama laden scenarios which ensue. Web middleware outsourced to India is not really a very US friendly affair nor particularly cost effective when the vendor wants a ten thousand dollar check to speak with you on the telephone.
Love that ransom called "monthly maintenance fee" or "support agreement", some "contract" variant or one label or another which culminates in a situation where you have to get in there and solve your own issues because the company isn't going to cough up ten grand on a whim ... and the software isn't working or has some fatal flaw which eludes attempts at patching it.
Needless to say, after a week hitting the logs and testing the crap out of this, that, and the other problem determination will ultimately be successful in the presence of compentent support staffers and yes, that's precisely why they keep me around.
The moral of the story is before you run off and jump 6 versions of any software package you might want to take inventory and adequately test prior to the surprises which may arise from simply retrofitting your server with the new product line.
Case in point, when you find yourself in the glare of the spotlight it's time to tapdance. If there's no one else to fix it the star on stage is you.
It's a living.
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- April 22, 2017
- Citywide Cleanup Day
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Today is the annual cleanup day where I live. In the past, my participation has resulted in trash pickers stopping in front of my house and picking through the stuff I set out for city collection.
Being one to learn from past mistakes my participation is not what it once was. I'm not setting out 20 pounds of flattened cans for some local dirtbag to pick them up and cart them off for personal profit.
Besides, I spent the bulk of last week's "staycation" on various lawn maintenance tasks and aside from cutting down a dead sassafras tree and trimming the suckers off the American Holly there is little to nothing remaining for me to do.
Suffice it to say that Citywide Cleanup Day required a different approach this year. I took the recyclables with intrinsic value to city hall and handed them over. This year it was a truck load of aluminum cans. The rest of the stuff will await curbside pickup at the city's leisure.
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- April 22, 2017
- Another Earth Day
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Yes, ladies and gentlemen another Earth Day is upon us. That Annual April 22 international tree huggers fest held since 1970 to support protection of the environment. The Earth Day Network purports membership in 193 countries.
I was once a proponent of Earth Day — though really not a tree hugger per se ... until I came to the realization of what a farce I think it is. When the Earth stops Japan from plundering the sea of fish and mammals with wild abandon perhaps I'll rejoin support for Earth Day.
They have annual events involving the slaughter of sea mammals and the unmitigated gall to call plunder under a "research" subterfuge when all it entails is the profiteering on other species which they sell as food and industrial products.
Earth Day is about protecting the environment. Why can't the Japanese exploit the great garbage patch of the Pacific and claim all that plastic for their profit instead of preying on the whales and porpoises until they are entirely depleted from the earth?
Earth Day will have to remain dead to me like so many of the whales and porpoises killed by the people of Japan with impunity while everyone else just stands by impotently and without influence or ability to stop them.
When will the carnage stop and when will Japan be held accountable for the pillage of the oceans ? The oceans are not the property of Japan and we need to prove this fact to them once and for all. They are treating the sea mammals just like they did the people of Nanking. They're doing it because no one will stop them.
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- April 21, 2017
- Wuss in Actuality
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Last night I was toying at watching Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket ... for the umpteenth time.
The story is told from the vantage of "Joker" and emanates from his strictly non military approach to service and the marines. I'll sit there doing something and then find myself compelled to stop seconds before something outrageous in the movie transpires.
It seems I have the high points all memorized, much like I did the movie Aliens during that nether yea of my existence teaching college.
Perhaps I was fantasizing about doing to the enemy what the corps did to the character Leonard aka "Gomer Pyle" — the foil upon whom the brunt of the barracks lifestyle was administered in figurative beating after figurative beating through the real thing with bars of soap inserted into socks as he was held down with a blanket and pummelled on his abdominal paunch.
The focus of the movie, however stark the beginning with Leonard's ghastly ending was; turns out to be the realism embedded in the dreadful practicalities of war and the all too many young men in their prime struck down by the enemy to die even more horribly than Leonard does in the latrine on graduation night.
I'm always left considering my meager boot camp experience with that of Leonard's and my substellar military service experience viz a viz Joker's. That feeling that I wouldn't have stood a chance in either is the resounding result every time. So Full Metal Jacket always makes me appreciate my frailties — of which there are many. Also, I'm typically inclined to be thankful that I didn't take the road less travelled which would have been Paris Island in the case of the marines.
I suppose the term it calls to mind when I get all defensive whenever I see the movie is that wuss that I must be in actuality.
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- April 20, 2017
- Four-Twenty
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Back in the day I was what was known as "a head". The term made reference to those who partook of various substances back in the heyday of the drug culture of the sixties through the 90s or so for me personally. I suppose it was the waining 1980s that found me confronted with the demise of my participation in the weed, the pills, the shrooms, all of it.
That demise was called a "pre employment drug screen" and rapidly became a requirement for any employment application process I encountered beginning at that time. I came to the personal decision that I was not going to be out of work for failing drug tests like so many of my user and dealer friends ... so I stopped with it all.
This lead to the time of hardship I called "jonesing" whereby I hungered for a toke, dreamed of taking a valium, longed for the various exlixirs of altered consciousness I no longer permitted myself. I was determined that that I would be able to go into some facility and pee all they wanted and be totally negative.
It became a personal obsession borne of a need to be capable of earning a paycheck. It was one of those early forays into the conservative adult behaviors which now predominate my existence. It was also a "rough row to hoe".
Today is known as 420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) and is that code for consuming weed ... typically about the time 4:20 p.m./a.m. In some European jurisdictions the number used is 16:20 with the celebratory smoking of cannabis ocurring on April 20. It's a reference to a California drug culture called 'the Waldos" and their codes for assembly after school which became cultish and memorialized by High Times magazine to the point that four-twenty is now standard jargon with druggies.
Be all of this as it may, I don't intend to pick the cannabis back up because as they say it was indeed a doorway for other crap I willingly took including bootleg ludes and what have you. I've been much better off these past years by and large hanging with those who don't go out of their way to screw you to the wall in an effort to profiteer over some background drug deal they want to make with you.
So the clear head, improved focus and concentration, better memory, and high order thinking skills are simply that added bonus of declining Four-Twenty over the years. If you partake more power to you and I hope you don't get screwed as badly as I used to in those inevitable dirty dealing that go down when everyone you know is a drug dealer.
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- April 19, 2017
- Cal-Exit didn't make it
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Like so many of the unsubstantiated pipe dreams borne of the California concepts of:
• "We can do anything we like" and • "its okay to be stupid as long as you're coiffed and wearing makup" and let us not forget • that universal war cry which echoes from the mountains to the Pacific ... "Duh!"
the California secessionist movement appears to have once again died.
Yes, I've heard of it before. No I didn't view it as viable then either. The current iteration lead by the 'Yes California Independence Campaign' spearheaded by one Louis Marinelli, a disillusioned millenial who is exiting the USA for Russia according to announced plans after the miserable failure of the Brexit styled attempt to impose his will on the state. До свидания, товарищ.
Now then, I believe there are Federal level considerations that a state referendum cannot address adequately and I seem to recall the deep south invoking similar plans to no avail ... can you say "confederacy" there little boy?
Brexit featured a referendum which was duly legislated at the level of the nation. Cal-Exit never was. A state is not a nation unto itself even if it consists of those who may think that. There is a frank difference between negotiating the legal aspects of a soverign nation in the process of part of it leaving.
Just placing it on the ballot doesn't qualify. There will be consequences for attempting to implement secession from the nation and you would think that those in California could learn those lessons incurred by the confederate states upon their unsuccessful bid to do the same.
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- April 18, 2017
- Rage
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There is a notion of uncontrollable anger. This violent, explosive form known as "rage" presents often time in fits and bouts of furious intensity overcoming the vast majority of those who encounter it ... primarily due to the unexpected nature and overpowering presence it may carry.
I was once prone to fits of rage. My anger stemmed from the realization of that falsehood which was too many of my so-called friends who I regarded as such until that time their true nature became known to me.
At this time I am okay with the betrayal, the lies, the social subterfuge and the realization that the character of the origin should be in question when aspersions are cast on anyone. At this stage of the game I am unlikely to fall victim to believing the gossip I hear because experience has taught me that much is left to interpretation.
Alas, in the world of backbiting and other forms of gossip all is rarely as it seems — or as described.
So, if you find yourself surrounded by those who would pretend familiarity with you it is advisable to maintain raised shields and don't fall for the peyton place which some envision friendship to be.
I was once trusting and friendly. Now I'm more wary and aloof. I'm a lot happier now too because in the end a person played as a fool will likely become just that.
Nobody plays me without wishing they hadn't anymore. The criminal element is no longer welcome in my presence nor is the ulterior motive.
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