But can a guy still swim in it?

Trendy “raw water” source under bird’s nest sparks diarrheal outbreak

Health officials would like to remind you that drinking untreated water is a bad idea.

Proponents have argued that raw water avoids undesirable components of municipal water, which they identify as disinfectants, fluoride, imaginary "mind-control" drugs, traces of pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals, such as lead from pipes. They also suggest, without evidence, that raw water can contain unique probiotics and other "natural" minerals and compounds that can improve health.

Granted, mind control drugs could be a bad idea. But "natural" minerals [sic]? {And what are unnatural minerals? What are they covering up with that periodic table?}

Stories of people dying from contaminated — or even poisoned —  water are, I suppose, as old as time itself. But still there were plenty of places where, with ordinary care, on could still find water safe to drink. The sparkling, remote lakes of Minnesota's northern forests come to mind.

Maybe it was never a good idea (think bear piss and goose poop) but we did it anyway. And we're still here — older, wiser (maybe), and way more polluted. It's kind of sad.

Chopping teachers?

They have a little trouble with headlines at the local paper.

Or do they?

The takeaway

U.S. intel agencies may change how they monitor social media, chatrooms after missing leaked U.S. documents for weeks

So this. They lose their stuff — again — and their response is to keep their eyes on you.

This is Big Surveillance in action.

What they should be doing, of course, is stop losing their stuff. But maybe they've given up on that.

And speaking of stuff, there is plenty of hinky in this whole story. John Kirby, Pentagon mouthpiece (and retired rear admiral) admonishing the U.S. press for reporting on the compromised documents was not an admirable moment. The question of how an Air National Guard E-3, no matter how high his clearance, had enough need to know to get his hands on the documents is unresolved. And who benefits is not at all clear.

My personal rule of thumb: Never believe more than half of anything written about an intelligence agency or by an inteligence agency in the public media and understand you will probably never know which half.

Add, now, they're watching.

But you know this already, right?

FBI warns against using public phone charging stations

"Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers," a tweet from the FBI's Denver field office said. "Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead."

An occasional reminder never hurts. 

Begging a moment for a pet peeve

Russian fighter jet nearly shot down British spy plane, according to leaked US military documents

The airplanes don't.shoot at each other all by themselves — not yet, at least. It's the people in the airplanes that do the shooting. And the getting shot at.

And drones don't bomb things by themselves — not yet at least.

When machines start shooting and bombing by themselves we'll have a problem of a different sort.