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July 1, 2017
July is here ...
july
As we enter the seventh month I am suddenly aware how time is flying right on by (as usual) those doldrums of June and the oppresive heat and humidity are likely to continue and I'm sure glad I work in air conditioning.

This morning finds me off to do a little shopping to buy some of those many items I'm out of — like dish washer tablets and "real" pine oil cleaner (NOT Pine Sol).

Anyway, I'm on a 4 day weekend and will be tooling around town on various errands for the bulk of it all.

Tags: life
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June 30, 2017
Local Whining over the Affordable Care Act Demise

As work on the Republican health care plan continues there has been a local uprising of sorts by those who want the tax and spend dole of Obamacare to remain.

    Local protest against the Republican health care bill

The coverage in one of the local rags was really quite a bit much with comic book representations of so-called debilitating disease represented in lipstick, mascara, and varioius body paints being characterized as "a gruesome scene" (puhLEEZE) and the chanting and home made signage touting this lament of that freebie which will soon be gone.

It's all fine and well and good to live in a socialist country and if that is your preference, by all means move there and live.

This business of expecting the workers to pay for varous others to receive never ending treatment at their expense simply is not the way to go in these otherwise uncertain times.

We are being expected to fund and support a never ending stream of children brought to the world by various women engaging the genitals of countless men who chose to lay around and breed rather to engage gainful employment and it simply is not happening.

People who have worked all their life and need some help are a different story.

Deadbeat parents can simply make other arrangements.

So yes, I come off as hard hearted over this matter but I've seen one too many emergency rooms flooded with colds and what have you which should be treated by private physicians which have never been present due to the motivations of those parents engaging this "need to breed".

We have been left with an entitlement crazy generation who feel that whatever need they may have should be funded by everyone else in the country.

It all has to end sometime. May as well be now. Naturally all of the "agencies" and the protests against the Republican health care bill not to mention the South Carolina Progressive Network leeches who want to take everything from the worker and hand it over to the shirker, calling the Republican measure to resume some semblance of sanity to government a "zombie bill".

Rumor has it that the military industrial complex and their masters the bilderberg group want to thin out the population anyway with nobody even bothering to challenge them. Well ... if that what it takes, it just may happen.

Get off the dole and go to work.
 

Tags: health
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June 29, 2017
Yet ANOTHER New Ransomware
petya ransomware    
At work we received an enterprise wide warning regarding the new petya ransomware which encrypts both files and the master boot records of infected machines.

It orginates in Europe with Russia and Ukrane hit early and hard. It has also impacted enterprises in the US and Western Europe and uses several attack vectors.

Once you get hit you receive a message demanding three hundred dollars in bitcoin to unlock the data. All data is encrypted at that point in time.

It appears to extract credentials from an essential windows file. It's primary portage are TCP ports 445 and 139 and unless some mistake is found the data cannot be accessed.

Now then, this is quite similar to Wannacry but adds a "worm" component for spreading the malicious code. Luckily my servers all keep stealth port assignments in effect and the firewalls are tighter than a ...

Pretty doggone tight.

The clear and present danger appears to be enterprise configurations such as those in multinational companies and like I keep telling ya ... backup is your only real time hope.

There is banter of the "Petya is not ransomware" variety being passed around with the definition leaning toward "destructive wiper malware". I find this reasonable given the fact that the email company the originators had been using has terminated their account with extreme prejudice rendering them incommunicado.

So, uh if you value what's on that disk drive let's hope you have a spare copy lying around. This has got me all fired up to start cloning my drives and I intend to get hot on that task immediately.

ALSO, I suppose that my repeated admonitions regarding what a cold place the internet is may be hitting you in the old realization by now ... ? Good luck and back up !

Tags: technology
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June 28, 2017
Facebook, people, and hate speech
     Freedom of Speech
It seems that Facebook is in the midst of a thing they call "Hard Questions" which is a series discussing various issues of modern existence. One of these coming to the fore is "hate speech" and opened with one of their officers stating how the company is against it in all forms.

My personal view is that speech should be free, hate or otherwise. One of the primary problems in the world today is this "protected mode" existence where a sector are "offended" by hate speech and want it banned.

This "safe space" mentality is a prime mover in the "pc" impetus and as such is a detrement to a free and open society. It turns us into an intolerant population of twits who cannot function in the throes of reality.

The value of "freedom of speech" is the ability to know from where a person positions themself in their sphere of existence. If that existence is offensive then the offended should simply shun the presence where ever it happens to arise.

Instead we find these people wanting to squash the rights of others to save themselves some modicum of offense in life. Therein lay the problem with this bunch of hoity toity patent leather types who would just as soon suppress you as look at you all in the name of "their" view of "correctness".

There are times and places for polite company. How you comport yourself in those various venues available to you is an indication of just who you are and where you stand. I, for one would prefer knowing that from your own expressions of idea ... not some watered down version a Yale grad accustomed to "safe spaces" and that sweet nothingness called their lack of reality can accommodate without screaming in protest.

I make no bones about it. If I believe it, I'm going to say it and I really remain unconcerned as to who gets offended. This is the nature of freedom of speech. This is who we are and we are not going down the revisionist apologetic path concoted by some misinformed manipulative would-be educator.

Freedom of speech is a constitutional right and not subject to the whims of those who would claim it implies a requirement for any level of polite interaction or any other predicating condition anyone might want to impose upon it.

So I get my share of hate mail. So there are those on the earth who hate me. There are likewise a segment of populace at the other end of that spectrum and I am satisfied with who I am and what I say. So whine on about it all you like. I'm remaining me and I'm fresh out of apologies for what I think or say. It's reality and you can just deal with it.

America

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From ev'ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

Samuel Francis Smith




Tags: technology, people
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June 27, 2017
Great Expectations
Icarus Falling by NikkelahGhaz on DeviantArt
Icarus Falling by NikkelahGhaz on DeviantArt
       
I expect too much. On the cusp of what awaits me in the world of technology ... I still expect the vendors to be one step ahead of the exploits, nipping the hackers and bots in the bud. However, this is fairly impossible — leaving me to simply firewall the problem children and go about my business.

This business of earning a salary and maintaining the side stuff not to mention the ever present blog. There remains little time for those other things I need to do. Even some of the highest priorities must await completion of those duties which pay the house payment and buy the food and other goodie consumbables I typical throw down with great gusto.

So, given the fact that I am who I am and my situation is such that it is; I suppose I'll just have to cool my jets and not get all fired up over news of various shortfalling security implementations on those packages I purchase — or have shoved down my throat like Windows 10 was.

After all, it's not my world out there. I'm just another cohabitating techie trying to get by.

Tags: technology, things
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June 26, 2017
Fear of Flying
    Asiana 777 Crash
Well ... when I was a kid Erica Jong came out with a novel of the same name. Lately it's reared it's ugly head in my notions regarding travel and the portends appertaining thereto:

First there is the TSA. I think I'd rather not encounter them thank you. I'd hate for some idiotic nothing to turn into a murder trial but given some of the antics for which the TSA are now legend the notion of bare knuckled revenge could be conceivable.

Then there are the various "crashes" ... and particularly those with little wreckage and no bodies recovered. My relationship with my government is not so solid as to blindly trust those in charge of my safety in that regard either.

It's far too easy to bring down a plane and call it something else anymore. I'm not one to volunteer to be somebody's cheap shot example, either.

Then there are the flight crews. I certainly have nothing against them but I am not going to submit to just any old thing myself and some of the antics of stewardess activities rival the origins of the dumming down of the United States, i.e., the educators.

Can I get a "Duh" ?

There's stupidity in them there environments and I am reticent to throw myself into a fray at 45,000 feet or allow some pea brain to be responsible for my safety when my point in time and space becomes beyond my control.

Sorry, but I simply don't trust any of you. I'd sooner take my chances on a nice conveyance like the Titanic.

The Titanic

Tags: technology
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June 25, 2017
Web Site Owners are sometimes Stupid
Magnifying Glass
 
There is this notion that seo can bring you to the top of google results. Nothing can be farther from the truth. You purchase your position in the results of a google search because it is not a "search engine" so much as an "advertising company" out to fleece you for all the cash it can.

So when you hear a web site owner talk about wanting to move up in the google rankings they are suffering from a misconception which is part and parcel of the google experience.

You pay them or you stay low in the search results.

The so-called "organic" search engine section of results pages are likewise not an objective ranking but based on just how good your business with google is.

I am lucky not to need google for any aspect of my business. I feel sorry for those who do and suffer from the delusion their lack of deep pockets propagates.

It appears that the entire seo illusion is part and parcel of a an advertising company appearing as though they are really a search engine company to disguise that predatory business model of which everyone is so envious.

It's in-keeping with that stupidity so prevalent in a world where critical thinking has been deemed unimportant in favor of pseudo intellectuality manifest by safe spaces, revisionist history devoid of fact, and political correctness by those who cannot function in that chaos called "reality".

These are the consequences of that generation of burger flippers we raised in the late 80s and early 90s reproducing and creating this generation of imbeciles bent on hyperconnectivity, telling all they think they know, and notions that everything on the planet revolves around them.

Then there are the redneck HVAC company owners who have unrequited lofty goals in search engine rankings and choose to blame their hosting provider for work beyond the scope of their agreement ...

So they pursue others thought able to provide this scratch for their eternal itch to the tune of artifically inflated yet continually unfulfilling results because now they are prey to their own petty preconceived notions of search engine viz a viz advertising company out to sell you want you want.

As google so aptly put it on their phone mail system back when I actually believed in them as a forthright honest company:
Please press "1" if you are paying more than $5000 a month or "2" if you are paying less than $5000 a month.
owners of the search engine company that really isn't a search engine

Tags: technology
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June 24, 2017
The Yellowstone Caldera and Us
    Old Faithful Erupting Yellowstone National Park

When I was a child I had the opportunity to visit the Yellowstone National Park with my parents. It was a wonderful time even in the cold season we went because everything was very colorful and wonderous to take in when you're a first grade child and quite impressionable.

I recall sleeping in the car — being warm and toasty despite the chilling temperatures outside. I recall a warning of "Bear !" sometime in the the night but don't reall being afraid at all. There was something reassuring about being in the safety of my parents company. I was never in fear and my needs were always provided.

The water features and the geothermal events were captivating memories which have stayed with me over the years.

Lately there have been some 500 plus earthquakes in the Yellowstone Park area since the twelveth of June. Though this is not an unusual ocurrence, news of which I recently read regarding the supervolcano which is the yellowstone caldera and the alarming possibilities for massive activity on a scale some have described as "prehistoric" have come to mind.

The subterranian gasses and molten rock available for reactivity is of a scope beyond the imagination of those unattuned to thinking in terms of epochs and extinction level events.

Me ... my imagination is taking me places that are both scary and thought provoking as I consider the possibilities of this giant volcanic/geothermal incident waiting to happen.


 

    Grand Prismatic Spring Yellowstone National Park

 

Tags: places, things
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June 23, 2017
Adult Onset Diabetic Emergency
red blood cells
 
    

Yesterday I had a nice lunch at the Brazilian Cowboy restaurant on Main Street consisting of a lot of veggies and a little fruit salad.

Upon returning to work I made a bad move and ate a couple of handsfull of peanut M&Ms from my cohort's office. I had been eyeing the bag for a couple of weeks and was caught red handed.

An hour or so later I'm falling out all over the place on the edge of a hyperglycemic coma.

The moral of the story is somewhat convoluted and involves both trying to have a little good judgement ... and staying out of the sacks of others — particularly when they contain hard candy coated chocolate covered peanuts. I was a good part of the afternoon recovering from this particular dietary mistake.
 

Peanut M&Ms
Tags: health
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June 22, 2017
Puppies and Interpersonal Relations
    Danger Animal Traps Sign
There is a contingent out there who feel that pictures of cute puppies can ease those harsh feelings which sometimes arise from close proximity in relationships.

There was even a study done at Florida State University which tested the association of positive thoughts to good feelings and subsequently good effects on relationships

Streams of pics including puppies and the loved one's face were viewed every three days for six weeks.

It seems that like Pavlov's dog, we can be conditioned for positivity in automatic reactions just by regular explosure to this 'cuteness' association.

It may not be a panacea for troubled relationships but the researchers feel that there was a clear indication that positive reinforcement could impact some serious issue between a couple.

Well, this is all fine and dandy but like my lovey dovey brother learned all too abruptly one day; sometimes it's too hot to get cuddly.

Tags: things, people
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June 21, 2017
Summer Solstice 2017
Sunset

    
So now we're getting into the real hotness of global warming. The summer season is always one with which I have to contend with a double barreled approach.

First I run the air conditioner to keep things relatively cool compared to the outside.

Second, I run a dehumidifier to keep the relative humidity as low as practical to increase the effectiveness of the HVAC unit.

I find this has worked satisfactorily for the past decade plus I've maintained the approach.

I recall times when the condenser would become full of water due to allergens in the evaporate. Now I have tablets added to the condenser to dispatch these prior to their becoming problematic.

The first day of Summer rolls in today, Wednesday, June 21st. This is marked by the summer solstice, that time when the Sun reaches its northernmost point from the equator.

The weather watchers, seasonal historians, and other meterological buffs are already touting the total solar eclipse which transpires 2 months later on August 21st.

The time varies depending on which time zone you find yourself within:

Wednesday, June 21, 12:24 A.M. EDT
Tuesday, June 20, 11:24 P.M. CDT
Tuesday, June 20, 10:24 P.M. MDT
Tuesday, June 20, 9:24 P.M. PDT

My memories of the beginning of Summer are many and varied. I recall a time when I looked forward to Summer's arrival because it meant trips to the beach and cavorting with friends in venues primarily having water features.

As time progressed and I became more of a "land locked" individual I grew less and less anticipatory of Summer and now I've reached the point that it's primary meaning in my life is heat and humidity.

In fact, the humidity has been with us a while now and is a force with which to be reckoned unto itself. For this reason alone I maintain a 70 pint dehumidifier which has began operation early this year. Typically August starts the serious timeframe for it's use.

All in all I view Summer as one of those months that prepare me for the autumn of the year and accompanying winter months with those cooler temperatures I really enjoy.

Tags: things, weather, beginnings, world
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June 20, 2017
Jaws released this day in 1975
    Jaws Movie Poster 1975

I recall the film Jaws, released on this day in 1975. The time was very difficult for me. A tad less than a year would find me at boot camp in the Navy ... so things were on a progressive downward spiral.

The movie was one of the more disturbing thrillers I'd seen up to that point in my life. The plot revolves around a fictional resort town in New England called Amity Island and I recognized the terrain of Martha's Vineyard early on.

The pursuit of a man eating great white shark was the premise of the plot. The Chief of Police pursues the marine beast with the assistance of a marine biologist and professional shark hunter.

The most disturbing moments in the film for me personally involve the various shark attacks. The pretty young girl getting thrashed violently around in blood stained water screaming "it hurts" and the little red headed boy screaming under the surface of an ever widening blood stain in the surf ... and then there were the recounted stories of the shark hunter's navy days in the pacific theater abandoning sinking ships only to be selected and devoured by sharks while awaiting rescue.

Oh, the humanity.

Anyway, the film became the highest grossing film of that time and initiated the summer blockbuster type of film.

I still watch reruns occasionally, the last time being a scant few months back. The attack scenes still hold the same horror in my heart. Professional divers speak of this as an irrational fear of an animal which has no interest in me as a foodstuff.

Still, the imagery remains with me all these 42 years now. I remain afraid of sharks as well.

Tags: people, things
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June 19, 2017
World Sauntering Day
WT Rabe World Sauntering Day    
A saunter is a leisurely stroll ... a walk taken in a relaxed manner without hurrying or making any real effort.

If you add a "showy" component the word is sashay — as proceed in an easy casual with struting or flounce.

We are concerning ourselves with the saunter in particular because it's more of a utilitarian walk without the theatrics a shashay might include.

In the spirit of the saunter, today is World Sauntering Day, an observance created in 1979 by one W.T. Rabe, who felt the need to respond to the increasing popularity of jogging.

The idea was to encourage individuals to slow down and "smell the roses" as it were; i.e., to appreciate the world and their environment.

Some localities celebrate World Sauntering Day on August 28.

As for me, I like to maintain a faster step because I attempt to exhibit "pep" and get from one place to another in a minimal amount of time.

Therefore, I doubt that aside from poking fun at "sauntering" in general I don't do any of it to the point of observation.

HOWEVER, being as generally contrary individual as W.T. Rabe I can see sauntering's place in modern history because it exhibits that distinct rebellious nature so innane to my existence.

Happy World Sauntering Day to you as you mobilize your activities whenever the need presents itself.

Tags: holidays, people
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June 18, 2017
Father's Day 2017
Jim Williamson Jr
father
Johnny H Pruett
stepfather


Tags: holidays
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