My to-do list for this weekend:
1. Bottle 6 (US) gallons of IPA.
2. Eat pancakes.
3. Pay bills.
4. Cuss quietly under my breath while doing #3 (above).
5. Do Christmas cards.
6. Formulate: a Big Plan.
7. Watch A Christmas Carol (the 1950's one with Alistair Sim) on DVD
8. Have Moose and Squirrel arrested.
9. Dust.
10. Save World.
There, it is always good to have a list.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
NYPD, NYC and the Press
Media Can Avoid NYPD Arrest By Getting Press Pass They Can’t Get | Threat Level | Wired.com
Freedoms erode away a little at a time. The Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD wants the Press to apply for permission first before they cover something. In a free society it does not work that way, the Press covers news wherever it happens. No permission needed in a public space.
My question is: what is Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD hiding?
Freedoms erode away a little at a time. The Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD wants the Press to apply for permission first before they cover something. In a free society it does not work that way, the Press covers news wherever it happens. No permission needed in a public space.
My question is: what is Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD hiding?
Friday, November 18, 2011
Alan Simpson: "There is a tipping point coming"
BBC News - Alan Simpson: 'There is a tipping point coming' (Video)
This is well worth watching. Simpson is one of my favorite conservatives and he's a straight talker - telling us what we need to hear not what we want to hear. He's right. Watch the whole thing.
This is well worth watching. Simpson is one of my favorite conservatives and he's a straight talker - telling us what we need to hear not what we want to hear. He's right. Watch the whole thing.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
eMail on Android: Use the App Stupid
Duh. Well it takes me awhile to figure these things out. The native email handling within the Android OS pretty much sucks for web based email accounts like Yahoo and Gmail.
If you use those web mail accounts then use the apps from Market Place instead. With the apps you get a cleaner interface, and most important PUSH email. On the Yahoo mail app you get to see thumbnail photo attachments as part of the email without having to touch a lot of extra buttons. I'm already liking the apps a lot better.
If you are coming from an iPhone using the apps might seem counter-intuitive but Apple really put some effort into email on the iPhone to make it simple and easy to use. While email works in Android it is nowhere near as good as iOS. So in Android use the apps.
Note 1: Hotmail also has an app. I didn't test it.
Note 2: I recommend using the official email apps for each service provider. There are many third party apps but I worry about privacy and security issues with those.
If you use those web mail accounts then use the apps from Market Place instead. With the apps you get a cleaner interface, and most important PUSH email. On the Yahoo mail app you get to see thumbnail photo attachments as part of the email without having to touch a lot of extra buttons. I'm already liking the apps a lot better.
If you are coming from an iPhone using the apps might seem counter-intuitive but Apple really put some effort into email on the iPhone to make it simple and easy to use. While email works in Android it is nowhere near as good as iOS. So in Android use the apps.
Note 1: Hotmail also has an app. I didn't test it.
Note 2: I recommend using the official email apps for each service provider. There are many third party apps but I worry about privacy and security issues with those.
Monday, October 31, 2011
3 Search Engines that Protect Your Privacy
Most people in the US use one of the following search engines: Google, Yahoo or Bing. All three do a great job at search, however all three also do a great job of tracking everything you and you family searches for. These search engines like it even better if you are logged into one of their services (email, blogging etc.) but they can also track yo via queries coming from your IP address and cookies on your computer. One or two searches by you and your family is no big deal, but over months, day in and day out of search queries these search engines start to develop a pretty good profile of your likes and dislikes on tens of thousands of topics.
The search engines use this data to serve up advertising that you are more likely to click on. But will the search engines eventually start selling your search data to other companies? Another problem is that the government has figured out that this search data these companies store is pretty valuable and that government is requesting ever more data. Remember the Orwellian horror stories of innocent citizens getting put on secret government lists and never being able to get their names removed?
Solution:
The solution is to use a search engine that does not collect any search data on you. Here are 3 good search engines you should try.
1. Duckduckgo - this is what I use as a default most of the time. DDG uses Bing as their primary and does a bit of crawling on their own. Very few ads on the search results page for a nice clean look. DDG privacy policy. More info.
2. IXquick - this is a very good metasearch engine. (And the results are different from it's sister engine Startpage below.) The more stars you see on a listing the more search engines agree that that website is worthy to be in the top results. Meta search engines are good for the kind of web search queries we do day in day out. Privacy Policy.
3. StartPage - okay so you have to have Google search results but without the privacy problems of using Google, what to do? Use Startpage. That is the big difference between Startpage and IXquick. Privacy policy.
While I do not think this is a matter to be paranoid or panic about I do think that what you search for is your business not anyone else's, just like what books you check out of the library are nobodies business but you own. Protect yourself. Take charge of you own privacy.
Challenge:
Use any one of these search engines for a week or two as your default search. If you like it keep using it. If you don't like it try another. Do this for all the computers in the house and see how it works for you and your family.
The search engines use this data to serve up advertising that you are more likely to click on. But will the search engines eventually start selling your search data to other companies? Another problem is that the government has figured out that this search data these companies store is pretty valuable and that government is requesting ever more data. Remember the Orwellian horror stories of innocent citizens getting put on secret government lists and never being able to get their names removed?
Solution:
The solution is to use a search engine that does not collect any search data on you. Here are 3 good search engines you should try.
1. Duckduckgo - this is what I use as a default most of the time. DDG uses Bing as their primary and does a bit of crawling on their own. Very few ads on the search results page for a nice clean look. DDG privacy policy. More info.
2. IXquick - this is a very good metasearch engine. (And the results are different from it's sister engine Startpage below.) The more stars you see on a listing the more search engines agree that that website is worthy to be in the top results. Meta search engines are good for the kind of web search queries we do day in day out. Privacy Policy.
3. StartPage - okay so you have to have Google search results but without the privacy problems of using Google, what to do? Use Startpage. That is the big difference between Startpage and IXquick. Privacy policy.
While I do not think this is a matter to be paranoid or panic about I do think that what you search for is your business not anyone else's, just like what books you check out of the library are nobodies business but you own. Protect yourself. Take charge of you own privacy.
Challenge:
Use any one of these search engines for a week or two as your default search. If you like it keep using it. If you don't like it try another. Do this for all the computers in the house and see how it works for you and your family.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
HP and a Windows 8 Tablet
News is out that HP will come out with a Windows 8 Touchpad in 2012. The problem with the Touchpad was one of releasing webOS a little bit too early, before it was ready, and the design of the tablet hardware which was too thick and too heavy. Probably also the price.
Build quality was good. The OS was good but a little rough.
HP's big failure with the Touchpad was not putting enough resources behind it to get it out to the consumer 6 months earlier, when it would compete against the iPad1 and not against the iPad2. HP's second mistake was to lose courage and flee the market before the game even really started. No guts, no glory. Or to heed the lesson Hannibal learned: If you and your army starts out to take Rome, then take Rome!
If HP wants to pump out a Windows 8 tablet they need to price it lower and make it thinner and lighter.
Build quality was good. The OS was good but a little rough.
HP's big failure with the Touchpad was not putting enough resources behind it to get it out to the consumer 6 months earlier, when it would compete against the iPad1 and not against the iPad2. HP's second mistake was to lose courage and flee the market before the game even really started. No guts, no glory. Or to heed the lesson Hannibal learned: If you and your army starts out to take Rome, then take Rome!
If HP wants to pump out a Windows 8 tablet they need to price it lower and make it thinner and lighter.
Politicians Need to Actually Accomplish Something
I hear campaign speeches from the President that masquerade as serious policy proposals. From the Republican Presidential debaters, I hear all manner of blather and nonsense. From Congress, no original ideas, no clue just sound bites that pander to the lowest common denominator.
From all the interest groups: tea partiers, State Governors, local government, talk radio/TV types plus those from all the above named groups: all I hear is people blaming and demonizing some other group. It's always somebody else's fault and 'I got mine the rest of you can go scratch.' I hear a lot of blame and scapegoating but see damn little serious action on repairing the problems.
I got news for the whole gaggle of you:
1. At some point you are going to have to actually perform rather than justtalk blovate, refer it to committees, find a distraction, spin and tap dance. 'Spin' is not accomplishment.
2. At some point for the good of the American Nation, failure will not be an option. (Think Battle of Britain if you don't understand.)
3. At some point you will have to put the good of the Nation ahead of all other things.
4. At some pointyou we all have to stop acting like 6 year olds fighting in a school yard and start acting like responsible adults.
From all the interest groups: tea partiers, State Governors, local government, talk radio/TV types plus those from all the above named groups: all I hear is people blaming and demonizing some other group. It's always somebody else's fault and 'I got mine the rest of you can go scratch.' I hear a lot of blame and scapegoating but see damn little serious action on repairing the problems.
I got news for the whole gaggle of you:
1. At some point you are going to have to actually perform rather than just
2. At some point for the good of the American Nation, failure will not be an option. (Think Battle of Britain if you don't understand.)
3. At some point you will have to put the good of the Nation ahead of all other things.
4. At some point
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)