It’s a sad thing to realize that any interaction with authority figures must be governed by the realization that it is extremely difficult to tell in initial contact whether they are exercising legitimate authority. . . legitimately. Or not. Time can tell the tale, but giving up information unnecessarily in the beginning only gives illegitimate interlocutors more hooks to deceive and manipulate the interaction to your detriment. Concealing information from legitimate authority, until they prove their legitimacy and good will, can slow the process (whatever it may be) and possibly instill suspicion in them, but until their intent is proven worthy, questions to define the scope and sequence of the interaction ultimately followed, if necessary, with “Fifth Amendment. Lawyer,” seem to be the only safe strategy. (Tactics for safe obfuscation and reverse-interview *heh* can vary.)
All Dressed Up. . .
Got up earlier this morning and saw that I was ready for a day of Red Skelton impressions. I even had the hat for it.
“Stupid? Hold My Beer.”
rom a comment thread elsewhere:
OP: “Y’all think of me as smart, I know, but you have NO IDEA how stupid I get with no fuel in me.”ME: “More of us are that way than might admit to it. . . I cannot count the times (because I am coffee-deprived and forgot to eat breakfast? Maaaaaybee. . .) I have turned to my Wonder Woman and said, ‘How stupid am I? *smh*’
“¯\_(?)_/¯”
López-Escobar, Borel Sets and Polish Spaces, Oh My!
Just Another Tuesday. *heh*
I feel my mental cogs slipping day by day, so I play memory/card games, read papers (mostly pubmed, given age/health stuff), and try to keep any math I do “between my ears” (though I do account balances/reconciliations on paper).
But still. . . while I can recall mor advanced math concepts, performing actual advanced math is. . . not so much in my wheelhouse, nowadays. *sigh* Neglected for years, such things are all fog, now, and I’m left with simply checking basic math/stats in the papers I read for entertainment and information: my own lil “edutainment” program.
Oh, well. Heading off fairly gently into that good night, I guess.
Probably Won’t Do This, butt. . .
Saw Aussie Lap Puppy licking my Wonder Woman’s cat’s butt again, and thought, “Hey! Could save $$ on toilet paper if. . . ” Nah. While it would be a $$-saver, I just think. . . nah. After all, I have enough problems with his “cat-butt tongue kisses” already.
Gavin Newscum as. . .
. . .Turdfinger, the man who flushed California down the toilet.
[cue campaign theme music]
“Turdfinger (Turdfinger) the man with the fecal touch. . . “
[Censored pre-publication.]
“That’s too weird” — My Wonder Woman.
Dealing With SuckyInternet(and TV)® Provider
Called to remove one of two cable services subscribed to.
CS: I need to verify your account. (This after referring to me by name.)
C: Why? You already identified my account [by name] from caller ID; you know I called from a number that is registered to the account. What else do you need?
CS: I can verify the account with the serial number of one of your devices.
C: ?!? Specify “device.” Which of the fifteen connected devices are you referring to?
CS: [Mentions the ONLY device my network allows them to see]
Downhill from there. But at least it finally got done. Probably. Maybe,
Until just last month, the only other –semi-legit– Internet service has been our local baling wire and chewing gum telco’s “DSL.” Yeh, I watched ’em try to hook up their “fiber” line to our POTS service a few years ago. No. Completely outside standards. Crappy phone service anyway. Dropped their POTS.
Looks like I need to take down a couple of trees [junk elms I do not want, anyway) to effect best placement for a Starlink setup. Then I can cancel EVERYTHING with SuckyInternetCompany®.
Government Regulation
Government regulation may reduce some risks, but it always makes innovation more difficult, at the very least.
Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.
Updated Nursery Rhyme
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Itsy-bitsy spider crawled up the coffee cup;
Take a sip o’ coffee, slurp the spider up.
Gag and spew the coffee into the spinning fan
And itsy-bitsy spider crawled up the cup again.
(Based on real life fantasy. #heh)