Waiting for the Other Anvil to Drop

 

Your love is like  blackened toast, no butter

The strangest thing happened tonight. We went to a restaurant. Well, that wasn't the strange part. We needed a good night out after the disaster that was the restaurant out back. This place did not have to jump very high to best the place out back. Here's where it gets bizarre:

• we got seated immediately
• the menu was like War and Peace - lots of choice
• no sooner did we order Coke than it arrived
• there were no screaming children
• the food showed up in record time
• the order was correct
• the food was good 

Yeah, I know... amazing, right?

This will not be appearing on The lefty Show because it wasn't funny, disastrous, incorrect, or too long. We walked out with our hard hats, because we're waiting for the other anvil to drop.

Today I identify as  Roald Dahl, asking his parents why they hated him so.

In different but the same news, I want to highlight the Alec Murdaugh murder trial. You can see it daily on Court TV (online at courttv.com). The trial really doesn't matter (except to Alec and family) but I want to go over Things of Importance. The prosecution presented a lot of evidence that did not prove he shot his wife and child. However, the latest evidence was more damning. Alec was placed at the scene, as well as multiple other places, by his electronic footprint.

His CELL PHONE tracked him with incredible accuracy and time, as well as who he called, who he texted, and the content of calls and texts.

His VEHICLE also tracked him. It's called Telemetry and it phones home. It told investigators exactly what time the truck shifted out of Park.

The OnStar service put him at several different places, with accuracy. 

I keep telling you about this.

Your car is a locator on wheels. 

Now that we know what private/incognito mode is on the browsers, we need to apply it to our cars. OnStar tracks and listens. It's the way the feds nailed a mobster: they heard him talking over OnStar. I told you these services operate in both directions - talking to you and listening to you. Your car has a cellular modem for communicating with whomever, right down to entertainment systems in the car. Pull the modem. If automatic start requires an app, it goes out over the net.

Also, your phone is another sad locator. Whoever is trying to locate you needs a warrant (if they get around to it) to obtain the records of where you were, your calls, and your texts. This is not a secret. We've known for years, even from watching Law and Order (pull his phone records). Just turn the damn thing off when you're not making a call. Also keep wifi and Bluetooth turned off if you're not in your house. Wifi is used by stores to profile you.

So what have we learned?

Nothing, unless we put it to use.

What have criminals learned?

Power off the phone and car services (or walk) if you're going to shoot your wife and son.

And while we're at it, the Surveillance State is completely out of control. Even if you walk and turn your phone off, there are video cameras everywhere.

And while we're watching Law and Order SUV, we bid a sad farewell to Richard Belzer (78 - Detective Munch?). He started out as a comic, came out as someone interested in conspiracies, then found the show, which also featured him and conspiracies. 

• Malwarebytes on my phone has this great message when it wants to tell me something: Device Has Issues. Well so does its owner.

Mainstream or Pr0n

This is the exclusive ThermionicEmissions game where the reader picks whether the 2 movies or tv shoes are mainstream or pr0n.  No looking it up on the web - that's cheating.

1. Extreme Sisters
2. Pie

Leave your answer in the comments.

Those QR codes that are springing up everywhere, including tv commercials... use the lefty Security Philosophy: Just Don't. They can cause your phone and computer to do all sorts of things that are not protected. Unless you're 101% positive it's safe, avoid it. There is usually another way to do what you want.

F'rinstance: IHOP has a code to scan that will allow you to see a menu, order, and join a sex club. Would I trust my phone with a company that can't get my order straight and can't keep the ambient  noise under Moderate Explosion?

Trend Micro offers free software to de-fang these. I have never seen it (it's new) or used it. I won't install it because I don't use QR codes, but you might find it useful. Don't become complacent.

The dog just returned from the groomer. THEY PUT BOWS ON HER EARS.

I was going to contact the SPCA for animal cruelty. Any business has to be careful of things they do, so as not to PISS OFF their customers. I told Wife we're not taking her back. Wife, being married to me, loved them. I used the word 'twat' in description of our little Cujo. She's embarrassed to show herself outside, for fear the other dogs (who she menaces) will laugh at her. Bows are even worse than the previously ubiquitous handkerchiefs around their necks. Wife just looks at me like I had more than my customary 3 heads. I'd hate to hear her internal dialog. I wonder if a female dog can be emasculated.

As if to emphasize my point, I went for cereal and the bowl fell off the counter, shattering into about 453 pieces. There is something about this particular set of dishes. This was the last piece of the set. It was my favorite cereal bowl. Every other piece of the set is no more, also smashed into at least 453 pieces per piece. I wonder if it just didn't like us and escaped in its own weird way. You have to be pretty pissed to escape by shattering yourself into 453 pieces. Or maybe the dishes needed an antidepressant and we missed the signs. 

The UK did an experiment in which the work week was limited to 4 days instead of 5, with no extra hours and full pay. The experiment was successful and some of the corporations are going to keep it. What's interesting is that productivity did not drop, sometimes improving. A cynic (HELLO?) will say this experiment proved that workers waste an entire day each week. You are free to draw your own conclusions. For some reason, I don't see this taking off in the US, except as a joke among CEOs. 

In its mad fight to drive customers away, Windows 11 will put a persistent watermark on your desktop to remind you that your pc doesn't meet the requirements for Windows 11.  You have to respect Microsoft's dedication to pissing off their entire userbase. Unlike other operating systems, you need more horsepower and memory for each new version of Windows. 

Shape-shifting robot melts itself to escape lab jail

Nothing to see here, people. Go on home. This is not, in any way, like Terminator. Isn't Americans Idle on tonight?

Yukon UFO could have cost unfortunate balloon fan $12

This article doesn't not state conclusively that the 3 other things we shot out of the air were hobby balloons, but they certainly come close to it.

I refer you to the audio of the 2 pilots coming up on an "octagonal object that wasn't a balloon."

I have no idea what they were. I'm just pointing out inconsistencies.

Sick of smudges on your car's enormo touchscreen? GM patents potential cure

GM was enthusiastic about it's zero-cost solution that anybody could install: don't use touchscreens in cars. They're just as dangerous as smaller buttons and don't deliver anything of value (unless you consider glare valuable). 

If automakers want to do something useful, how about a windshield that doesn't keep clouding up in rain, snow, and weather in general. Even the defoggers don't help. This has been a problem for as long as I've been driving. And on a related note, bring back bench seats, room, and a cushiony ride.

App founder quits Google, says company doesn't serve users anymore

I don't know what LSD smells like, but I smell LSD. When did Google ever serve users?

HER: You're so easy to talk to

HIM: That's because I gave up trying to get a word in and just let you talk.