2.21.2015

You were wondering?

What happens when graphic artists get bored.

The rumored Apple electric car…

Tim Cook SLURPED OUR BRAINS, growl fat battery boys A123 • The Register:

"The filing comes amid growing rumours that Apple is ramping up its efforts to move into the electric car space."

…is now rumored to be scheduled for the year 2020, which means fanboys will be lining up outside the dealership for five freaking years. It’s gonna be some line.

Full disclosure: I’m an Apple fan, but no way do I stand in lines for tech. I can just barely make it out of a grocery store.

You know you're getting old…

…when you dutifully eat your bran flakes for breakfast and forget—yes I said forget—there’s a slice of pizza in the fridge. 

Or, for that matter, why the newspaper didn't report it until Feb. 21

Adams Donuts inspection process: What happened? | The Recorder:

"GREENFIELD — Mayor William Martin said Friday that he would like to know why town inspectors didn’t notice until last September that the hood over a local doughnut shop’s deep fryer was in violation of the state fire code."

Oh. Wait. We are the newspaper. Well.

Buck up, New Yorkers; why, when we were kids…

Record cold grips the city with more snow on its way | New York Post

"But frosty New Yorkers still had one thing to be thankful for: not living in Embarrass, Minn. That tiny town reported a temperature of 41 below zero Thursday — and that was without the wind chill."

Two degrees is pretty survivable. Wear mittens.

Maybe it's time to re-read the book

Ice dams causing headaches in snowbound New England | Boston Herald

"Steve Gilmore, who owns a local ServiceMaster disaster restoration franchise, said the roofing companies he contracts out for snow removal work are already three to four weeks behind on job orders.…
"'I've never seen it like this,' Gilmore said. 'It's almost biblical.'"

Biblical snow? Or maybe he’s talking about some kind of biblical roofing company? Maybe it’s just in the translation.

2.20.2015

For just one fleeting moment there I thought it said "off the crack"

LePage cracks down on state employees viewing porn on state computers | State & Capitol

"Gov. Paul LePage on Friday issued an executive order to stiffen policies prohibiting state employees from accessing pornographic material on government computers or devices — even when they’re off the clock."

This reminds me of a movie but I can't remember which one

Historical Belfast building available to anyone who will move it — Midcoast — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine

Maybe because it was full of kissing and stuff.

Or maybe because, well, I just forgot. The fight against forgetting is an ongoing thing. This table where I sit is littered with technology, from a laptop and a smartphone to two stacks of sticky notes. The sticky notes are for writing things down so I can remember them long enough to type them into my reminder apps. Sometimes that works.

Lots of tromping around today

It’s been chilly, but nothing my 1000-below parka can’t handle, and it seemed like a good idea to get things done before it starts snowing again. If all the present predictions hold, we could get 15 or 20 more inches of the stuff before the first day of March ends. Plus, the days are getting longer, so we can watch more of it as it falls. 

That’s the good news. The bad news is it might rain enough on Sunday to reactivate the ice coating all the sidewalks, which will keep us all creeping along in little baby steps for another month or so. I have some ice cleats but they’re difficult to use, so I rarely do.

Only easy stuff for me, Bunky. That’s the rule.

Lenovo is a Chinese company, right?…

Lenovo backpedals on Superfish adware, says it's working to 'restore trust'

“That might sound bad on its own, but, according to researchers, Superfish does this so sloppily that it leaves windows open for hackers to take advantage of the fake certificates, and potentially steal sensitive user data, including banking information."

…So we’re waiting to hear this was all just some big NSA plot.

</sarcasm>

29 days until spring


What? This thing hasn't gone away yet?

Borges: Deflategate is now full-fledged fiasco | Boston Herald

"Now if Wells is in fact investigating 11 altered footballs and you still believe the Ideal Gas Law of atmospheric conditions as the cause of the deflation you are, to be kind, an idiot. For that to be true, the Ideal Gas Law would be so Ideal it only applied to footballs on the Patriots’ sidelines and when in the Patriots’ possession. Unless, of course, you’re in the camp that believes the NFL is nothing but a massive co-conspirator with the Colts to bring down the Patriots. Of course, if you believe that, you sound like the Clintons."

2.19.2015

Ooops

If it hadn't been for that Thomas Jefferson we wouldn't have these problems

Noam Chomsky: America paved the way for ISIS - Salon.com

It's not just the weather that's breaking records

Check this out: Two things we don’t care about in one headline.

Glenn Beck Thinks Joe Biden Is Super Creepy

I think he's onto something (get it? on to?)

The man and his rationale for a toilet snowplow: ‘People are attracted to toilets’ - The Washington Post:

"‘We created the plow and waited around hoping it would snow, and darned it snowed,’ he says. ‘It’s a hands-free toilet!’"

We cant wait to hear the whole story

Jeb’s ugly Iraq revisionism: Laying the failure of his brother’s war on Obama - Salon.com:

"But my brother’s administration, through the surge, which was one of the most heroic acts of courage, politically, that any president’s done, because there was no support for it. It was hugely successful and it created a stability that, when the new president came in, he could have built on to create a fragile but more stable situation that would not have allowed for the void to be filled. The void has been filled because we created the void."

Also, have you seen the weather news from DC?

Democrats Escape Cold, Spend Parts of Recess in Cuba

"‘This delegation travels to Cuba in friendship and to build upon the announcement of U.S. normalization of relations and other initiatives announced by President [Barack] Obama,’ Pelosi said in a statement.  ‘[It] will work to advance the U.S.-Cuba relationship and build on the work done by many in the Congress over the years, especially with respect to agriculture and trade.’"

Only 31 days until spring

15 Unbelievable Photos of the Northeast's Latest Freeze

(Temps may get into the high twenties next week but there’s still more snow on the chart.)

2.18.2015

I'm no fan of Scott Walker but on this I agree

Scott Walker dismisses 'elitist' criticism that he dropped out of college - Yahoo News

"Last week, former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean brought up Walker's lack of education, saying, ‘The issue is, how well educated is this guy?’"

Sorry, yes…

Is Haggis the Antidote to American Obesity? - 11 Points

"Short answer: No. "

…because who’d eat?

Saving Charlie: Boston still trying to get its subway system running again, after snows

Pilgrims get a little nutso in Beantown

Boston mayor warns snow divers to ‘stop the nonsense’ - NY Daily News

"‘This isn’t Loon Mountain, this is the city of Boston, where we’re trying to remove snow off of the street, and it becomes very dangerous,’ Walsh added, according to the Washington Post."

2.17.2015

Glad you asked

What's causing freezing temperatures across the U.S.? - CBS News

Winter.

Next question.

There I am…

…the fat guy in the hippie/hipster healthy food store, standing in the checkout line, grimly clutching my baguette (best in town, the high school French teacher says), when a woman says to me, “What could be more wonderful than a nice bread?"

What? I’ll tell you what. July, that’s what. A day that’s not icy cold and up-to-your-eyeballs white. A day when you don’t spend half an hour struggling into layer after layer of clothing only to discover you’ve got your shorts on backward. That’s what. Summer.

Meanwhile, Some Guy writes from Seattle, "So far this week I’ve seen about a dozen daffodils in full bloom. Flowering plums and cherries are going nuts."

Shut up.

I'd love to see how they figure this out

Bill would require government to buy American-made flags | TheHill

"Under Bustos's measure, the federal government could only buy American flags produced in the U.S. created with all materials manufactured domestically. Current law only requires flags purchased with taxpayer funds to be at least 50 percent American-made."

Here's an idea: Let's just offend everybody

Prominent Republican: Women Need To Be Paid Less So They Can Find Husbands | ThinkProgress

"The best way to improve economic prospects for women is to improve job prospects for the men in their lives, even if that means increasing the so-called pay gap."

Ebola chic

How the fight against Ebola came to New York Fashion Week - The Washington Post

"This was definitely not how Jill Andrews imagined making her way to New York Fashion Week. But the Baltimore wedding gown designer couldn’t be prouder of the garment she displayed in Manhattan this weekend.…"

2.16.2015

Meanwhile, in Maine…

Eastport residents buried by ‘unparalleled’ 99 inches of snow — Down East — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine

"That’s how much snow has fallen on this island city, wedged between Cobscook and Passamaquoddy bays on the Canadian border, and it’s starting to weigh on the local population."

Why believe in science when magic is so much easier?

Why science is so hard to believe - The Washington Post

"We live in an age when all manner of scientific knowledge — from the safety of fluoride and vaccines to the reality of climate change — faces organized and often furious opposition. Empowered by their own sources of information and their own interpretations of research, doubters have declared war on the consensus of experts. There are so many of these controversies these days, you’d think a diabolical agency had put something in the water to make people argumentative."

I don't know anything about the fashions (except that they're as old as I am)…

but these are photos taken for LIFE by the great Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Is it time to start running yet?

BBC News - Could driverless cars own themselves?

"Emancipated automobiles sounds like a crazy concept. But the man advocating the idea goes further: he thinks they'll have babies."

Why does this crack me up?

Has the Government Spied on You? New Website to Allows You to Find Out

"There is a simple form to fill out with your contact details and name, which Privacy International will then take to court…"

No kidding, I really did…

…dream last night I was a detective and solved a case. The one who did it was that woman making jambalaya. I arrested her, and finished the jambalaya myself.

Which was a good thing, because tomorrow is Mardi Gras. Laissez le bon temps rouler.

A disaster for the ages

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile crash: Giant hot dog on wheels slams into pole - CBS News

"No one hurt, but the wiener is in bad shape."

From the wonderful world of advertising

Lint

Noted!

Here’s Your Health Excuse to Take a Nap | TIME

"Conventional wisdom used to be that you can never catch up on a lost night of sleep — but a new study adds weight to the emerging theory that the negative health effects of a sleepless night can actually be reversed by a good nap."

Theirs may be deeper but ours is very likely whiter

Mayor Marty Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker urge patience during historic dig-out | Boston Herald

"Frayed nerves are beginning to unravel under the emotional weight of 8 feet of snow that has buried Boston in just three weeks — as authorities plead for blizzard-battered Bay Staters to take a deep breath with more storms in the pipeline.…
“You could say the likelihood of an active winter weather pattern continues for the foreseeable future,” said Simpson, noting that 95.7 inches of snow have fallen so far this year at Logan International Airport."

Here in our pleasant valley (and safely away from the coast) we have maybe two feet on the ground, with a little more expected Tuesday and maybe quite a bit more next weekend. But we’re halfway through February already, and spring is right around the corner. 

2.15.2015

Sounds a lot like football to me

Faith-fueled forces of hatred: Obama’s religion speech was troubling — but not for the reasons the right alleges - Salon.com:

"What, some might ask, could be wrong with prayer? By common definition, prayer entails someone sitting for a quiet moment and beseeching his or her Lord for intervention in matters of grave import – that it rain on the crops or souls be saved, that gays be ‘healed’ or atheists ‘see the light,’ and so on. In objective terms, however, the supplicant is demanding improbable favors from an imaginary despot, and most likely doing so with lowered head and genuflections and other toadying gestures of obeisance — behavior that without faith’s halo would be classified as symptoms of mental derangement. (And all the more so if the petitioner claims to receive answers to the muttered incantations.) This debasing ritual, fruitless and foolish though it may be, is at least usually peaceful, but in some cases (notably in certain corners of the Middle East), rioting and rampaging follow, especially on Friday afternoons, when imams may deliver sermons exciting crowds to fury and frenzy. "

RE: Chump change

Hackers Stole Hundreds of Millions in Massive Malware Bank Heist:

"What's more, since the hackers only swiped $10 million at a time, the attacks likely didn't raise any eyebrows while they were being carried out."

Going for the record—still

Turns out I did go outside yesterday (shoveling), so I'm still looking for my first stay-in-all-day day of the winter (and maybe in all of recent history, but I forget). It's not as easy as it looks.

We did get more snow last night (a this-winter mere three or four inches) but the driveway got plowed and the sidewalks are clear, so no need for me to get involved. I'm taking another shot at the indoor lazy.

Anyway, I have a list of indoor stuff to do: Make more lists (shopping: there's a special on SPAM at
CVS next week), organize a reading project (ran across a promising list of books on computer security), figure out (finally) what the heck Twitter is all about.

And there's tomorrow.

Awww

Chocolate Chip Mint: Happy Valentine's Day, Siri

Snake bites man, but only in one place

Ukraine cease-fire holds, except in one spot - CBS News

"The U.S. State Department said images from eastern Ukraine offer 'credible pieces of evidence' that the Russian military has deployed larger amounts of artillery and multiple rocket launchers around Debaltseve to shell Ukrainian forces."
Lion Fish

iPhone art: Phil Compton