Lies, Damned Lies, and “News”

NEVER (as in DO NOT EVER) take “reporting” on ANYTHING about ANY scientific research as anywhere near what the actual research may (or may not) have shown. EVERY Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind “report” on science in the last couple of decades, at least, that I have read has either been grossly inaccurate (because of stupidity–willful or otherwise–in the reporting and editorial staff? Quite often) or a deliberate attempt to deceive for scaremongering purposes. If the topic is at al interesting to you, LOOK UP THE ACTUAL RESEARCH and read the actual paper cited, if available. It is the only way to discover whether the Hivemind “report” is lying to you or not. Well, you could ask your friendly neighborhood scientist to review it for you, I suppose. ? If you know one who is honest and can actually do decent research.

Gather up all your hens’ teeth to pay for the consultation, though.

The Joys of Cat “Ownership”

A bit tired of dealing with “cat-bottom” flavored coffee. Wish I could effect a good way of keeping them from waving their, urm, posteriors over my coffee mug. Oh, well. At least my mugs are cleaned frequently. *sigh*

Small Pleasures

Fun lil piece of dialog:

“I’m trustworthy, I just don’t seem like it, because seeming trustworthy is suspicious.”

“You are an unnecessarily convoluted man.”

“Thank you.”

Filed Under. . .

Words I never thought I’d read: “. . .get your elegant and beautiful ass back in the saddle and get thee hence.” ?!? Oh, well. Next book. (Yeh, that was a high point. Would have been prettier if it’d been a picture of a Hi-Point. *smh*)

When Tech Is Stupid

Yeh, so, hmmm, well (and other such placeholding stalls), dead TV, out of warranty, bought a new one with decent specs-to-price appeal. Remote sucks. Manual sucks dead bunnies (and is ONLY available online, either through the TV itself–a stupidly clumsy implementation–or via third party pdf downloads). Setup sucks worse. STILL only seven channels available, and no digital channels at all. It’s even worse than that. DEMANDS network access before it’ll do ANYTHING (I’ll fix that at the router; just lock it out there). And how many firmware updates will it require? Who knows? Two so far, but says three more. *sigh* Almost want to return it just for the setup headaches.

Cool Lil Devices

Kinda enjoying my Caldwell Emax Shadow hearing protection. Really attenuates loud noises while passing ambient sounds at comfortable levels. That’s all I really use them for, although I probably could also use ’em with my phone via Bluetooth. But just enhanced ambient sound + hearing protection from loud noises is all I really want or need.

*yawn*

Not even toothpicks help. (Eyes wanna close; head nod off.) Maybe a siesta, eh? Oh, wait. BP 102/55, pulse 65. Maybe more exercise instead. Or not. *heh*

*shrugs* I think These Things So You Don’t Have To

I kinda snicker a little bit when someone starts talking/writing about “sniper rifles.” My two word internal response is always “Simo Häyhä.” Yes, there are specialty firearms designed for extreme long-range accuracy that are frequently used primarily by snipers, but ANY rifle is a “sniper rifle” when it is in the hands of a sniper. Just say, “rifle.”

Illinois Tightens Privacy Measures. . . a Little

Specifically,

Illinois Passes Bill to Prohibit Warrantless Data Collection from Household Electronic Devices

Headed to the governor’s desk.

While it’s good they addressed this, folks who use these massive security breach devices (Alexa, Ring, Echo, and other IoT devices) are already being spied on by others who are just as nefarious as government agencies. Perhaps not as powerful as government agencies, but just as interested in jamming folks up in their own ways. (“Oh, but you use FarceBook.” Yeh, but when I do, FarceBook thinks I am hundreds of miles or more away from my location, among [many] other obfuscation measures.)

*smh*