Captivity - DAY 90 Be leary of aardvarks

It's accepted that weatherpersons are wrong most of the time.
They said it would be cloudy and rainy. It's 88% humid and bright. I can live with that.


Phrases you don't hear often:
You're such a tease, Mom...


Did you ever hear a song and not recognize it.... then you find out it's one of your favorite groups?


Creators say diversity in games essential


Raheem Sterling says it was a "massive step" that Premier League players took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. After the knee, they burned down their stadium.

Black lives DO matter. It's just hollow, now that companies are going out of their way to mention it. Guitar Center, tv networks, commercials, etc.

Yesterday was Another One of Those Days. I was pretty mad and verbal. Today I'm ANGRY. After about 3 hours of my classic entertainment, any sentient being, along with anything metal, left the house in panic mode. It's just not pretty. The neighbors bring out their chairs and popcorn to watch (safe distancing is 2 houses down). First was Object Aviation, otherwise known as 'throwing shit'. Many things became airborne, from soda cans to large tables, to the Camaro that was parked in the living room. They laughed when I said I could launch a car. They're not laughing now.

The wife and dog came back home very quietly, hoping I'd gone back to launching lighter items. Airport tower radar only registered the Camaro, but they just shook their heads, laughed, and said, "lefty's at it again." Their favorite story was when they tracked a tractor, which went up, past radar range, and demolished an NSA spy satellite. Anger can lead to positive outcomes - don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

There is a right wing group called Boogaaloo Boys. They're showing up at protests, on the opposite side of BLM. Apparently they have everything up to white supremacists. What really bothers me is that their uniform is Hawaiian shirts. These mf-ers stole my appreciation of Hawaiian shirts. I've been wearing them since before anyone knew about the web (they go great with diapers). How DARE these people make my obnoxious clothing a negative symbol. I'd let them know how I feel, but they carry automatic weapons.

Speaking of clothing, Black hole plasma jets are shaped like bell-bottoms.

Black laptops are shaped like shorts.

Black roads are shaped like cargo pants.

Black cars are shaped like slutty lingerie.

I was minding my own business, working, when the landline and cell phone went off at the same time. The moment they stopped, the landline rang again. Then the cell again.

Then there's Telephonic Round Robin: call cell - no answer. then call landline - no answer. If we're really lucky, they'll call a 2nd cell. Hey, I have an idea... if I don't answer, I'm obviously ignoring you. Calling a different line is not going to help you and it's only going to piss me off. Do you really want that on your back?
Balancing LEAVE ME ALONE with "You never answer and we're not calling you ever" is a difficult task. umm..... you could always leave a fkng message.

James Fairbanks lived near a pedophile.
James Fairbanks shot and killed the pedophile.
James Fairbanks is in jail for 1st degree murder.
James Fairbanks has a GoFund Me or similar, and he's getting tons of support from all over the country, monetary and otherwise.

Sorry, James.. we are a nation of laws, and you broke one. The big one.
The only way you could kill the bastard is if he was coming at you with a gun or anything that made you feel afraid for your life.

Yeah, the guy deserved it, but you have to do things by the law.
We also need to come up with a viable solution for pedos. Life in jail? Mrs lefty says throw him in with the general population and the problem take care of itself. Then there's chemical castration. Unfortunately it's worthless: pedos don't perform because of a sex drive. They perform because they're not right upstairs. If they castrated him, he'd still be active, just not with his jolly roger.

Then there's the not-discussed effects on the victim.
It's beyond horrible. If the child doesn't get the required help, things will not go well. They will grow up with all sorts of issues and might wind up in jail. Could be bad behavior, alcohol, drugs, recreating the crime, or becoming an abuser. The psychological effects are awful. They could also become dissociative, which looks kinda 'checking out' at the better end of the spectrum. If the abuse is repeated and traumatic, they could wind up with multiple personalities, which is the far end of the dissociative spectrum. I know this because I'm married to someone on the far end of the spectrum.

He's Putting a Colonoscope Up That Ferrari

Just a reminder that the new Faceyspaces facial recognition feature is turned on by default. Because it's urgent that FB get your facial metrics. In addition, this will help you get tagged in photos (and filed appropriately).

• Today's Fast Fact: voting is compulsory in Australia.
• Voting is a moral imperative in America.  If it were compulsory, we'd see even less voters.

Major difficulties are becoming public at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Because of all the glass, people are calling 911 after walking into it and injuring themselves. Only the best and brightest for Apple.

• Good thing we have the internet. I saw a commercial with the phrase "dilly dilly" in it. How stupid, I thought, and went to look it up. To my surprise, it came from a Superbowl ad for Budweiser. Yeah, there's no way I would know that otherwise. Not many 'experts' can agree on what it means, but apparently it took flight after the commercial aired. Fascinating, in that it fascinates people. We are an incredibly complex and undeniably stupid bunch.

I mentioned Ryan Seacrest being among the throngs of men accused of sexual harassment. Headlines are starting to appear about how he is 'fighting for his life'. I thought the guy had a near-fatal injury... no... he is just fighting his accuser. Hollywood - always in search of a new low.

And speaking of new lows, the Oscar ratings took a nosedive. It could have been an all time low. And who deserves it more than a bunch of back-slapping celebrities, who use any old award show as a platform for their politics and causes.

Jimmy Kimmel didn't even bother being allegedly funny: he advocated gun control and, shockingly, bashed Trump and Pence. 

• Speaking of gun control, Florida rejected a ban on assault weapons, favoring a vote to arm teachers. This might be the first thing to make sense out of Florida in ages.
• NRA membership is going through the roof.

Three daycare workers have admitted to giving children gummy bears laced with melatonin to get them calmed down for nappytime. The teachers were arrested. Asked for comment, the children yawned. Melatonin is pretty harmless, but still... it doesn't compare to my idea of valium lollipops.

Meanwhile Back in Rome...

• Father Luca Morini is on trial for allegations of blackmail, embezzlement, and other crimes. This shouldn't surprise anyone. The new and more fun item is that Francesco Mangiacapra, a male escort, has been providing services to Father Morini, who falsely presented himself as a judge. If the father's belief system is even a little bit true, I hope he comes to understand the power of the judge he's going to meet.  When Mangiacapra (don't these  people have any Smiths?), known to friends as Bob, found out the father's true identity, he questioned the financial source for all the lavish dinners and expensive gifts and reported Morini to his diocese. The diocese lept to inaction, awakening only after the case was shown on tv. The bishop suspended him and imprisoned him in his 200,000 lira house, built specially for him, with bills and maid included.
• This story has all the elements of a great book: blackmail, homosexual priests, lavish lifestyle, cocaine, orgies, and death threats. 
• The only honest man in all of this is a male escort. There has to be a biblical lesson here. This will hopefully see prosecution. The top levels of the Catholic Church, along with the pedophile priests, are the largest international criminal gang in the world.

The presidential race in 2020 is heating up, first with Trump's announcement that he will be running. Maxine Waters has just announced that if Democrats win back the House in 2018, she promises financial reparations for black Americans. Is this woman possessed by some insane ghost? Has she missed her meds for a few years?  She better be paying for this personally.

Foreign Aid

• For more years than I've been on the planet, there have been appeals and television commercials for money for starving children in Africa and elsewhere. Why is it that, despite all the money given, children are still starving? We send federal aid in addition to private donations.
• I just saw a commercial asking for aid for poor Jews in Israel. I am stunned. 
• According to an expert on Israel's defense, the defense budget is $15 billion.  The Israeli taxpayers pick up 70% of the tab. Defense Ministry income makes up 9%. The other 21% comes from you and me, fellow American taxpayer, to the tune of approximately $3.15 billion. Most of the aid comes as military equipment, not cash. This makes perfect sense, as the Military Industrial Complex gets a cut before the taxes stolen from the taxpayers go to a different country. We just signed an agreement for $38 billion over ten years.
• I don't have any means to figure out the financial demographics of my readers, and I don't care (although Google knows). We are barely getting by.  My money is better in my pocket than in the government's, then in foreign countries' pockets. Imagine what you could do with this money... save, invest, treat the family to something nice, pay off bills. Instead we give it to other countries. Is this ok by you?  We as a country cannot afford healthcare, yet billions hemorrhage out of the country every year.
• If you believe in foreign aid, send the money yourself. It's your money - do what you want with it. I never decided or ok'd or voted for my money going out of the country (or to most of what happens in the country).
• Which Congresspersons take the most money from pro-Israel PACs? An estimate of total aid to Israel - $138 billion. The Israeli-Palestine conflict has cost American taxpayers $3 trillion. I am not picking on Israel specifically - this is just the most egregious example of our money being squandered without really knowing it. Isn't it about time to keep our money at home, where it belongs, along with our military?
• If the American taxpayer had any real idea of what is being taken and where it goes, there would be rioting in the streets. After we turned the Kardashians off and finished our beers.

If you have been to Applebee's this year, look over your card's transactions. Point of Sale malware was discovered mid February.  Most US restaurants were hit, but if you paid online or using self-pay tabletop devices, you're ok. Look over your transactions anyway - it's good practice.

• Even more to look forward to in England: a Member of Parliament thinks wolf-whistling, catcalling and unwanted attention on public transportation should be reportable as hate crimes. Be careful letting them know how you feel, lest you be reported for a hate crime.

Had to pick up some meds at the local pharmacy. Mrs lefty says some of the people there piss her off. Really? I get great service there. Oh well... Walking up to the counter, the nice lady asked for my name. I gave it to her, then mentioned Mrs lefty too. She said ok.  She rang me up and gave me a total. Once again, I asked for meds for Mrs lefty too.

She stood there a second too long. I could see a lone wheel turning. I could smell the winter fragrance of twigs burning, along with the plastic bags from the leaves. She probably has some sort of illness from too much plastic bag burning. Finally it hit her, in Extra Slow Motion, that there were two customers sharing a last name. She pulled up the bag, stopped again, and said there were more. At least we were moving forward, I thought to myself. Finally I managed to pay and  escape the place. I suspect her boss was monitoring her performance... I couldn't see him but I heard anguished cries from the back room.

When you send an email with two questions, only the first one will be answered. It's the rules and I didn't make them. When you call someone, they're not really listening after Hello.  Try this: next time you call someone, after they answer, say, "I'm going to murder your pets Hi Bob, how's it going?" Next time at the pharmacy, I'll say to her, "Hey, those are some prodigious tits Can I have meds for the leftystrats, please?"

Around the Dial

things heard on tv or radio

• "...he believes that there's a sub-atomic particle, not yet discovered by science, called the pyrotron, that crashes into another particle", causing spontaneous human combustion.
• Is that motorcycle helmet New Zealand/Australia certified?
• "Oh no" duhhh duhhhh - a 'special' dog mascot for a UK insurer
• yur INE als (urinals)

Does advertising reflect reality? Is it manipulated? Is there an agenda besides selling you things? 

I ask because I'm starting to see mixed-race relationships on commercials. This is an interesting item to me because it's never been on tv. It is also antagonizing to some of the alt-right, who see it as an agenda. If the alt-right is getting itself into a tizzy over this, they better stay away from UK tv, where it's absolutely normal. Their heads will explode when they observe the black and white lesbian couple selling whatever they're selling. One was in the bath and the other was sitting on the toilet, clothed. It's amusing to watch groups lose their Stuff over things like this.

What would be interesting to me is UK advertisers using attractive women to sell something. They certainly live up to their stereotype.

• It's not that I don't trust manufacturers and users, but I don't trust manufacturers and users. I've written of flaws that allow Bad People to access things like pacemakers. Here's a related matter: researchers found vulnerabilities in a machine used to access and adjust pacemakers. Apparently the software used to run it is full of holes. The manufacturer was notified, and took its time in fixing the flaws. Meanwhile the machines were vulnerable, hence the pacemakers too.  Now apply this to The Cloud and Internet of Things. This is the future of security.

Best Headline:

Zebra hit, killed by car near Ostrich Festival

• Ask yourself this question: does the world need Neil Diamond tribute bands?

The staff and hopefully readership of ThermionicEmissions would like to thank the SE PA weather forecasters for another dead-accurate feat of prognostication. The rumblings started early this time. Talk was over 6" at least. Philadelphia closed schools a day in advance and went to Emergency Mode, where all cars had to be removed from the street on Snow Emergency Routes. This is a very important step for Philadelphia, as it needs to keep routes unobstructed for cleaning and emergency traffic. Also, the Parking Authority loads up on fines and towing fees. The store shelves were picked clean and there were lines of 13 per lane. Full Panic<tm> was in effect.

The forecasts stated that the snow would start the night before. In an exceedingly rare occurrence, they were correct. By the next morning, it was coming down hard. The flakes were huge and wet, adding up to 2" per hour, which is really A Lot Of Snow. After getting the mail, I looked like half a snowman. Marshall, being black, looked like the Abominable Snow Span.

The snow continued for a while, stopping just short of their forecast of 12" or more. And when I say just short, I mean about 2-3" total.

On one hand, we're all glad this wasn't worse. Extricating the cars will be less heart attack inducing (remember - the highest incidence of heart attacks is after shoveling, so don't).

On the other hand, most women will tell you 2-3" ain't 12", with a far-away look in their eyes.

On the third hand, if the local weather forecasters said it will be light sometime in the next 24 hours, I wouldn't put money on it.

Feel the Johnson

About 200 million Yahoo account credentials were just dumped online. While there is no indication if the theft is fresh, it won't hurt you to change your password. One of my friends got hacked last week.

In fact, it wouldn't hurt you to change any or all of your passwords. Make them secure. If you're not sure what secure is, do a little searching online with your favorite search engine. I use duckduckgo.com, which doesn't track you.

• I don't wanna say I work with some interesting old folks, but the guys in the next cubicle are discussing the need for sheetrock and the fact that one of them had a half sheet that he just threw out. No, wait, he gave it to his son. Then he proceeded to describe it. It's been a year and a half and I still don't understand this place.

More earth-shattering (stupid) news: our friends over at Apple have changed their handgun emoji to a green water-pistol. Hopefully they will not reproduce. Next up: Apple changes phone shape to round, so you can't 'point' it at anyone.

• I think I'm experiencing Political Burnout. Or General Burnout - I can never tell.

ISIS has threatened the Olympics. In Portuguese. Unfortunately the Google Translate results came out like this: "Your mother is a dumptruck. We fuck goats. We will masturbate in stadiums, to images of pork and pork products."

Just in case they're serious, some of the Olympic sports have been 'adjusted':

* The 100 yard run from explosions

* Throw the javelin at the terrorist

* The itsy bitsy, teenie weenie, yellow polka dot pork bikini pageant for women and men

* The 50 foot dive while keeping your AK47 dry

• The World Health Organization has endorsed a 42 second hand-washing method. Compulsive hand-washers all over the planet rejoice.

Non-political message: Trump called Hillary the devil.

Please put your own punchline in a comment. The winning entry will be included in the next post. There will be no monetary compensation but maybe I can manage a candy bar. Probably not.

• A Dutch man waiting for an online girlfriend to show up, spent 10 days in a Chinese airport. Between the 2 of us, I don't think she's coming, Dude.

I know it's early, but can we have a remake of "Suicide Squad" starring Congress?

• This is Bachelor Week at ThermionicEmissions, as Mrs leftystrat is off tending to two sick parents. Rest easy - Marshall and I are ok, except for figuring out how to hide the hookers and blow Marshall ordered while I was at work. The wife is likely to notice the charge on the credit card.
• The Good Neighbor is concerned, as Marshall has spent less time outside, commanding her to bring him food. Speaking of which, he was so hungry the other day, he ate his own food.
• Marshall also turns up his snout at tap water. We have to put it in a spring water bottle and refrigerate it until cold. My relatives went to Disney and brought him back a water bowl that is very difficult to tip over, as he does when it's empty. At least he has something to occupy his creative side. Meanwhile, I take the water bottle out of the fridge and announce "Special Spaniel Water." He runs to his bowl and drinks the water as I pour it from 3 feet up. After he's done drinking, he paws the water out onto the floor. Nobody knows why.
• Are you getting the picture of life in my house yet?

Donald Trump made few friends the other day, when he kicked a baby out of a Virginia rally. I don't know why people are upset: when I go to a restaurant or on a plane, I always ask for the No Screaming Baby section.

• An Australian woman just became a mother at age 63. Has this possibly gone too far? Who does she think she is - Mick Jagger?

A lawsuit has been filed against the makers of Pokemon Go over players trespassing on private property. Unfortunately, you still can't sue for stupidity.

• A leading Irish Archbishop has said he will stop sending his trainee priests to study in the country’s main Catholic college due to allegations of a “gay culture.”  Still no word on the "pedophile culture".

It has already been established that California is the Land of Fruits and Nuts but the Hollywood Set is particularly affected. The following was heard at the DNC:

"Our president is brilliant" - John Legend
"I Love You, Barack Obama" - Alyssa Milano
"I don't expect to feel as proud of a president in my lifetime as I feel about Obama" - Michael Ian Black

They appear to be living in a different universe.

Get the hell out of here before you get me SHOT

You Covet My Ice Cream Bar...

Why do we like spicy food? What is chili pepper doing for us? How does it block pain?

• Libertarians: taking over the country so they can leave you alone.

Hillary Clinton: I'm the most transparent person in history. Yes, Hill - we can see right through you.

• SELFIES: Al Roker had to apologize for taking a smiling selfie in the midst of the South Carolina flooding.

Obama is considering a plan to leave a significant force in Afghanistan. Demands a list of countries we haven't invaded yet.  Hey - didn't he promise to get us out of Afghanistan?

• Trump hotels confirm credit card breach. Trump plans to bring this same oversight and security to government. Hillary Clinton breathes sigh of relief.
• INTO THE BREACH: The Trump breach doesn't yet have a count of affected. Experian got hacked and leaked 15 million T-Mobile customers and Scottrade's breach affects 4.6 million customers. This is from 10/2 to 10/5.

Today's happy dystopian news deals with the niceities of facial recognition. Read it and weep.

• Beard transplants. No, really. About $7,000. And you can clone your dog for $100,000.

Right on time, here's this week's Great Unwashed Report: Hillary supporters think a white privilege tax should be enacted. I'm all for a Stupid Tax. But let's balance this out with the opinions of the Sheriff and some citizens of Roseburg, OR. After the tragic shooting, they say gun control is not the answer. Furthermore, the President is not welcome there.

• The Vatican is moving pedophile and gay priests to a monastery to be 'cured'. I'm thinking that short of shooting them, there's no cure for pedos. In the Real World<tm>, gay conversion therapy has been discredited. As for pedophiles, they should be prosecuted and, if found guilty, placed in jail with CHILD MOLESTER tattooed on their foreheads.

The French: Air France executives announce the layoff (firing) of 2,900 workers. Workers riot, some rip shirts and jackets of executives. President of France surrenders over concerns that this is harming France's reputation. Umm.. corporate executives firing 2,900 people isn't bad for France's reputation? Why don't we do that here?

• Satanists help uphold First Amendment: Long after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the Oklahoma Capitol's Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional, it was removed, quietly and under cover of darkness. When they refused to remove it initially, many groups campaigned for their own statue, including satanists, who erected a seven foot tall statue. Even the Flying Spaghetti Monster applied for a spot. The initial suit was filed by a Baptist minister, who preached the Ten Commandments, but knew it didn't belong on governmental ground.

A South Carolina man called police because his girlfriend wouldn't have sex with him. I call sexism. If his girlfriend called police, it would be Loss of Consortium.

• Tired of your ridiculous, boring, restrictive state? Why not move to Colorado, where politicians are considering topless women in public and Denver is the number one sexually active city in the country (link contains rankings).  I'm considering a job as a data gatherer for projects like these.

One of the world's most powerful people, Rupert Murdoch, tweeted that he wants a 'real black president,' in support of Ben Carson. While you have to admire the man's intestinal fortitude, one wonders what would happen if someone tweeted something about a real white president.  UPDATE: Mr Murdoch 'very sorry'. What he meant to say was that "It's about time for my niggah Ben to git in office."

• Why are Janet Jackson and N.W.A. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees?

No good deed ever goes unpunished: Mrs leftystrat bought a stack of butter cakes for friends and relatives, plus one for us. Everybody was thrilled with them, including the dog, who ate ours.

• Don't forget: October is National Breast Awareness Month!

SURVEY SAYS!: One in three vegetarians admit to eating meat when drunk. They probably take selfies too.

• A 79 year old retired New Jersey firefighter was burned to death after his lawn mower caught fire. If this man, with all of his firefighting expertise, cannot put out a combusting mower, what chance do I have? The mowers are out to get us!

TECH

Duck You: Degath's Ducker 

What is a ducker and why do you need one?  You're listening to the tv or radio and a show starts off with some music, then someone starts talking. The music fades to the background so you can hear the talking. If you do this automatically, it's called ducking. Why do you need this? I have no bleedin' idea if you do or don't but I'll tell you anyway because I'm impressed with the software and its author. Unfortunately it only runs on Windows (I asked - no plans to port it to linux) and does not require installation: just put it in a directory and fire it up.

If you play music while you're computing or surfing but you want to be interrupted for an important Skype, call, text, or the latest Faceyspaces selfie announcement, this program will be helpful to you. It's pretty easy to run... open your programs first, including the ducker. There are two windows: trigger and target. Your trigger is the important interruption and the target is your music or whatever you need muted when the important audio comes in. That's it unless you want to get really complex. It works as-is. If you like it, make a donation (I did).

PET SAFETY

Please put a tag on your dog or cat with your contact information.
This morning a little black dog ran in front of my car in traffic. I pulled over and grabbed him. No one seemed to know where his human was and he had a tag with only his name (very helpful). Fortunately he was in great shape, very friendly, and his owner drove by, looking for him.



ART AS MUSIC?

Let's talk about songwriting. Let's talk about taste. Let's talk about tone. Let's talk about The Rembrandts.
You may know them from the ridiculously overplayed theme song from the ridiculously overplayed sitcom Friends (I'll Be There for You). This is the last time I'm going to mention that. These are songs that get into your head and you want to play often (even the ones without guitar solos!).

One of my favorite Rembrandts songs actually made the radio. It's called Just the Way It Is, Baby. Prime example of good songwriting and hook.  It contains a really tasty and tone-filled guitar lead - really odd for a hit.

Someone is an acoustic-driven piece with yet another good hook.

I didn't actually know this song until I came across it on Youtube. This House is Not a Home is a more electric one, managing to get their jangle into it. The video is amusing, not to mention the appearance of certain staff and the Playboy mansion.

Listen to some of their other songs.

Linus Torvalds - father of linux. When was the last time you saw Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in a monogrammed fighter?

Pope Ain't No Dope

So the nazi pope has stepped down, which came as a surprise to apparently everyone (yes, he was a nazi when he was younger).

Pope can cite ill health all he wants; the last time a pope retired, many people could not read and write.  Usually popes are buried, hence my skepticism.

One of the more interesting pieces of news around this announcement is that They are saying that perhaps it's time to go with a new pope from a different area, like Africa.

BOOM!
FLASH!
It hit me instantly: this pope is getting while the getting is good.  He is not a stupid pontiff; he sees the legal writing in the wall.  He is escaping before the excrement hits the rotating device.

Then, when he's gone, they're going to blame it on the black guy.

=========================

The Catholic Church appears to be one of the largest, most corrupt organizations on the planet.  In case you're not up to date, this is an organization that has tacitly approved pedophilia by covering it up and reassigning the offenders to other parishes, sometimes in different countries.

You can call it coincidence if it happens in one or two United States but when it happens in many states in many countries, it's no longer a coincidence.  When there is evidence of a cover up and proof that the church repeatedly moved pedophile priests around to offend in new places, the church has a legal problem (not to mention a moral one).  And don't get me started on the Boy Scouts.

A psychologist I know provided the best insight into this problem: when you take a group of people and put them in a situation where they have to ignore a basic human instinct, you have a problem like this.  Others have suggested that priesthood is a calling for pedophiles in the first place.

I have previously called for the United States to prosecute the church under the RICO statutes.  RICO refers to racketeering and was used initially against organized crime.  Then our good friends in government started to apply it outside of the mafia, especially when they discovered Asset Forfeiture.

A legal source said that while it is possible to bring a RICO case against the church, no one would dare do it because the political ramifications would be dire.  It's sad but I get it.

Perhaps the UN or a similar body could make itself useful and bring the church up on charges in front of the whole world.   There is no doubt of their guilt but they should have a fair trial.



NOTE: Many of my friends are Catholic.  I have no problem with them or their faith.  My issue is with their headquarters.