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Month: July 2013

Don’t have a lot right now

Sorry; I don’t have a lot for you right now. I have a lot going on. Just not a lot to say. I’m feeling a lot in common with Firehand, yet at the same time (and in total contradiction) would love to ponder and elaborate upon this intriguing observation from Instapundit. But I’m not gonna. Maybe it’s Commentariat fodder? Mostly, I’m deadlining today and maybe into tomorrow morning. But I will be back. Meanwhile, friend Joel has the best blog post of the week, maybe of the month, maybe the year, with some damnfine comments on it as well.

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Monday links

If you’re old enough, you remember when Russian dissidents thought they were better off to defect to the U.S. Such a long, long time ago. Really long … Reason # 4,386,542 to be leery of Facebook. Odd one. Viral humor. I was really trying to avoid the Heidi Yewman Ms magazine saga (ignorant hoplophobe forces self to carry a gun for a month and reports on how icky it made her feel to, like, have to be aware of her environment and, you know, have grown-up responsibilities and all). Even when Joel had at Ms. Yewman in his inimitable style,…

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To buy that Onion Pi

Pre-order here. This is for a turnkey privacy-enhancing wifi device with TOR built into it, ready to go to work for you, your non-techie family members, and your houseguests. Original post and discussion here. Remember that no single device or app can guarantee complete security under all circumstances. For instance, you don’t want to be using TOR (which this device provides) while inputting personally identifiable information. However, for your private surfing needs, this may be as easy as basic protection gets. Its maker, Scott, will be around to answer questions.

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Friday links

“And if he could just give up [his addiction to running for office], he could live a full, productive life as an internet sex freak!” “Predator student loans.” Why are so many commentaries so good at analyzing problems and so lame at naming real solutions? Your “representatives” like spying on you. Even when they aren’t personally allowed in on all your secrets. I guess we can comfort ourselves that the vote was at least impressively close. Oh yeah. Now this is a not-bright idea. In more ways than one. The other day we linked to economist and actor Ben Stein.…

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A message from The Amazon (is somebody trying to tell me something?)

I mentioned a few weeks ago that this spring and summer have been hugely stressful. The stressors aren’t bad things; no problems. Nothing to worry about. It’s just that since late April I’ve felt as if I’m running back and forth on a high wire with no net and an armload of bicycle parts that keep falling out of my arms, unbalancing me. One more demand on my time, one more responsibility, one more dollar that has to come out of my pocket and I fear I’ll plunge to the ground and shatter. Okay, that’s a little melodramatic. There are…

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Tuesday links

Another unexpected consequence in the (very long) wake of Hurricane Sandy: the millionaires’ missing wine. A fascinating only-in-New-York kinda story. Now that’s one young lady you don’t want to trifle with. Economist, commentator, and actor (“Bueller?”) Ben Stein makes one of the wisest observations following the Martin/Zimmerman case. In this, his thinking is a lot like Martin Luther King, Jr.’s. SF/fantasy writer Larry Correia gives Stein some competition. Or at least gives Obama’s whiny, divisive speech (“I’m Trayvon and you’re all a bunch of racists”) its very best fisking. Followed by some voice-of-experience from being a big, dark, scary-looking guy…

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Would you buy an Onion Pi?

* Want the privacy advantages of TOR, but don’t want to install TOR on your computer? * Want the privacy advantages of TOR, but can’t install it on your computer or mobile device? * Want your friends, family, and guests to be able to easily anonymize — even if they aren’t geeks? * Want anonymity you can take wherever you go? That’s what Onion Pi is for. Sez its creator: Using it is easy-as-pie. First, plug the Ethernet cable into any Internet provider in your home, work, hotel or conference/event. Next, power up the Pi with the micro USB cable…

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Walden on Wheels: terrific book

I just finished a really terrific new book: Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom by Ken Ilgunas (a young man I suspect we’ll be hearing more of over the years). I had heard somewhere that it was the memoir of a kid who got freaked out by his student debt and went debt-free by living in a van. Sounded interesting enough. But it turns out that’s only about 1/10th what this book is about. It’s about a young, coddled, clueless suburban slacker who decides to grow himself up. It’s about the insanity of starting adult…

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