The Crux of the Biscuit

... is the apostrophe

-Frank Zappa, featuring Jack Bruce

The ProtonMail guide to taking control of your online privacy.

You can get a free email address that's encrypted and does not monitor your messages. A free VPN also exists.

With just a few characteristics, someone could identify you 99.98% of the time.

The Dutch government is really pissed at Microsoft for all the data slurping they do. After solutions were offered, the government discovered that mobile apps and Office online are still gathering information, as are some of the features in Win 10 Enterprise.

Meanwhile in the US, we can't get enough of MS. And data slurping.
You can turn off telemetry in Win 10 but it will keep sending certain data. Remember this as you type. Unless you use iOS (I think) or linux.

Female Privilege

The scene in the movie has 5 people pulling a raft from the ocean to the sand.

When I say 5 people, I mean 4 people are doing the pulling, and the lone female is jiggling behind, in a bikini top, laughing vacuously.

Who gets doors opened for them - house/shopping/car ?

When there's physical labor to be done, who is expected to not participate?

When does a man touch or remove his hat?

Who has the better mammalian protuberances?

Who isn't required to register for the draft?

If women truly want equality, they need to give up these things.

*I'm not suggesting this.

Dear lefty

• What is a heat index?
• This is when you're expecting 100 degrees but they aren't content with making you miserable... 'with the humidity, it feels like 107'. It's a conspiracy to cause unrest, funded by the air conditioning lobby.

You think your day was bad?
What about the driver of a van with over $80 million worth of crystal meth, who hit a police car at a police station?

Overheard

• If I were with her, she wouldn't be alone
• Baby's genitalia amputated after botched operation by nurse who claimed she was a doctor.

"Kabul seeks clarification in Trump talk of wiping out Afghanistan."
 ---> Go Boom

• Why does NASA tv have no sound?

Heroes of the Stupid

Someone tweeted: "Life is short, Steal a Walrus." MarineLand Canada sent the police to pay him a visit.

Bishop claims that a child becomes gay because parents had anal sex.

Under a new law, South Dakota will now require all public schools to display the "In God We Trust" motto; the display must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches in size - CBS News.  This will not survive a legal challenge. The religious advocates will not sit quietly until their symbols are everywhere. If anyone disagrees, they use the C card - everybody hates Christians.

The ACLU states plainly that trans people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are.

I'm not getting too involved here, but isn't there an ability gap when one gender competes with the opposite gender? Men are traditionally larger and stronger. If they transition, they're still larger and stronger. Put another way, if men tried to join women's sports, I'd be upset too. Technically I wouldn't - I don't do sports, but let's pretend, shall we?

SJW Stuff

Oregon approved 'mental health days' for school students.

How Armstrong's “giant leap for mankind” helped perpetuate inequality—on Earth and beyond.

Democrat State Representative Says Men Should Be Castrated to End Abortions, Taxed to Store Their Sperm

A gay artist's work was pulled from a North Wales gallery after police were called, and the work branded homophobic.

Two women were kicked off Twitter for 'misgendering'. For calling a trans woman 'he', after she spewed insults at them. This is the Canadian woman who filed a human rights complaint against 19 salon workers for refusing to do a Brazilian on her (male) equipment. While Twitter has every right to run its business this way, think about what happened: they got banished permanently for misgendering someone. Next up: book burning, then lynching.





I got used to missin her,
I practice all the time.
  -ZZ Top  Pan Am Highway Blues

Occam's Razor Needs Sharpening

President Obama tells his French counterpart that the US is no longer spying on France after the latest Wikileaks revelations.  Sure we aren't. We continue, however, to spy on our own citizens.

• Newly discovered Australian mammal mates itself to death.  Kinda like most American males would, given the chance.

So the other day, we're out driving and what do we pass but a Jehovahs Witness center.  I've never seen one before in my life.  I decided it would only be fitting to knock on their door and ask them to have a conversation about the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Don't you hate it when your wife won't let you out of the car? [which reminds me... I have to go shopping for just the right colander for my drivers license picture]

I collect interesting phrases that I have heard. Here are the latest:

• You steal one car and all of the sudden, you're a car thief.
• You've got to slide up and down on the hard thing,
• Let me show you my jetpack.
• Uh oh, the electric company is here - the power is going to go out.
• Please bring ant spray.
• I  love algebra.
• I have used algebra in real life.

Usually I come upon Stuff. Stupid Stuff that's so obvious that there's no way I could have thought of it. Today's example is headphones. I have to use headphones at work because I wouldn't want the wonderful music I listen to to grace the ears of my coworkers (pearls before swine and all that).  Guys - put on your headphones... you will gain greater perspective on your music - particularly the musicians. It's also easier to figure out how to play music by checking out what's in which ear.  leftystrat - Super Genius<TM Acme>. One song that will make your headphone-ensconced ears spin is Jeff Beck's Cause We've Ended as Lovers, with Max Middleton's stereo-panned Fender Rhodes electric piano.

• Remember how the USA Freedom Act was going to rein in the NSA? That act authorized a six month transition. When the title is Freedom, you're not getting Freedom.

This morning I heard about a big storm last night. The National Weather Service has been called in to figure out if there was a tornado.  Does this strike you as strange?  The weather is over; why do we need an organization to step in and potentially make it worse?  This reminds me of the Heat Index: it's 94 out today but with the Heat Index, it's 104. Do we really need to be more miserable?

• The country's first gay divorce law firm opened in... guess where.... Philadelphia!

WINDOWS 10 ALERT

Microsoft's latest piece of malware, Windows 10, has introduced at least ONE security problem, in addition to the usual backdoors.  Enabled by default is a feature called WiFi Sense, which shares your WiFi password/credentials with friends. As if this weren't enough, the credentials sit in an encrypted file on a Microsoft server. Gee, no chance of MS or other letter agencies accessing this, is there? Your contacts from Outlook.com, Skype, and/or Faceyspaces can be shared.

Allegedly, the service will only allow sharing of the internet connection, not your hard drive, internal network or anything connected to it. Here's another Gates-ian solution: in order to opt out, you need to RENAME YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK by appending _optout. Opt Out may not be instant and it is recommended to change your password in the meantime.

This is yet another hijack from our friends in Redmond. When they start affecting the name of your wireless network, it's time to take them to task. The Redmond Menace must be stopped.

Remember - this nonsense is enabled by default. DISable it if you must downgrade to Windows 10. Just because it's the latest and a free downgrade from Windows 7 does not mean you need to install it. Better yet, defect to linux (free) or the piece of fruit operating system ($$).

What Great Music Do You Have This Week, lefty?

Funny you should ask... I decided to go with a more mainstream artist, yet to retain that certain something for musicians. Yes, it's perennial favorite Peter Frampton. I have mentioned before that my first concert ever was Peter Frampton, fresh from one of the greatest selling live albums of all time, Frampton Comes Alive. It was at Philthydelphia Humongo Stadium, in the midst of about 100,000 other sweaty, polite bodies. Down on the field, there were no assigned seats, so we were free to worm our way up front to see Peter and various other acts, like Lynyrd Skynrd and maybe Fleetwood Mac (with Stevie Nicks, when she was every guy's wet dream and every girl's fashion plate).

Philthydelphia Humongo Stadium was eventually razed, so the state's taxpayers could provide Corporate Welfare to fabulously wealthy sports team owners. This largesse provided for three stadiums in the state of PA.

Peter had some great albums (the black spinny things that you scratched up with a needle that required the hands of a skilled surgeon to manipulate), namely the ones that produced the songs that made up Frampton Comes Alive. My favorite album is called [wait for it....] Frampton and contains the studio versions of Baby I Love Your Way, Penny for Your Thoughts, (I'll Give You) Money, Nassau and Show Me The Way. Give it a listen - there's some great stuff there, which might be a pleasant surprise.

Mr. Frampton made the Talkbox popular (Show Me the Way, Do You Feel Like I Do?) and I had to get one. Incidentally, the golden-haired idol of millions has turned into a Bald Old Dude (like me) who continues to get better at the guitar and entertaining crowds (unlike me). Try to see him when he's touring, which he does frequently.