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Month: September 2013

Saturday diversions, part I

Okay, I promised cute dog stuff. So here you go. Matrix Puppies: Amazing! And now from summer sunshine to fall And finally! Somebody has answered the vital question that constantly concerns people who are both movie fans and animal lovers: Does the Dog Die? (I still can’t watch Old Yeller …) Bonus: Critters with a sense of style (Hey, doesn’t that wolf look just like George Clooney?)

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Friday freedom question: Would you quit the Internet?

Ever since Pamela Jones shut down Groklaw and announced she was not only abandoning the site but quitting the Internet entirely in light of the Edward Snowden revelations, I’ve been thinking about this. At the time, though I found her reasons poignant and pertinent, I thought she was overreacting. Now, I don’t know. Personally, I’m not on the verge of quitting. A big part of my life is here. And all of my career (such as it is) is here. That’s been true since 1986 when a client bought me my first 300-baud modem and set it up so I…

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Thursday nooz & links

… also general tab clearing The specific, state-by-state insurance cost increases coming to you courtesy of Obamacare. (Not all states are listed; some, like mine, that have already made insurance unaffordable will see less impact.) “That’s not autism!” A touch of sanity. (Personal note: I have one severely autistic relative who cannot function in the world. I have another who is your basic typical introverted, socially non-adept geek who would today be diagnosed with Aspergers, though he is a fully — if quirkily — functioning person. “Autism spectrum” doesn’t begin to put these two meaningfully into the same category.) Ten…

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NSA: Crypto compromise news gets worse

Edited The non-surprising, horrendously shocking, news about the National “Security” Agency’s perfidy gets worse. Again, we’re dealing with something that’s been speculated about for years but whose real bogeyman shape has only now materialized thanks to Edward Snowden. Wired has one take on it — and some doubts. A friend whose profession is data center security has a more apocalyptic take (the second half of what he says is what we all need to be aware and beware of): RSA has now admitted that they pushed a known flawed random number generator in most if not of all of their…

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Life is cruel

A friend’s dog died yesterday in a fluke accident. Two of her dogs were playing. One caught its jaw in the other’s collar. Both panicked and fought, bloodying the house in their struggle. The one with the caught collar strangled. My friend furrydoc rushed to the scene but was too late to help. The dogs belonged to the woman who took these photos. She gives her heart, soul, and considerable talent to animals. Worse, the dog that died was the special buddy of her sweet, forlorn adolescent son and had been the boy’s mainstay during dark days. Worse and worse,…

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Monday links

Mark Steyn on America as a banana republic. Political views mess up your ability to do math. Probably other things, too. Fascinating study but not surprising. Another example of confirmation bias in action. Do you get junk emails from your acquaintances urging you to connect with them on LinkedIn? I used to get a fair number of those and thought, “Wow, for people who supposedly know me, these guys are sure idiots.” Like I’m ever going to join LinkedIn. Like I think it’s just wonderful for acquaintances to give my address to all and sundry. Then I got a fervently…

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The penny floor; oooooh, I want one!

A room floored with pennies. Never heard of such a thing until yesterday, but now I want one. There are various ways to do a penny floor. They all seem to produce gorgeous results and, if you discount the DIY labor of installation, are fairly cheap as floorings go (about $2.88 per square foot in pennies plus some adhesives and coatings). Most of the objections raised here are easily answered. Except the one about … oops, metal being conductive. So, you science-minded types: would a penny floor, well covered with an epoxy coating, threaten life & limb? The phrase “to…

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