… and not yet in federal custody. Sorry for the blog being out this morning. Someone asked me to tell the story of that, but it’s really dull. Just something about the access file BHM uses to keep spammers out. Went temporarily haywire and kept us all out. Me, you, everybody. Webmaster Oliver fixed it, but only after both his mailbox and mine filled up with worries. I’m glad you’re keeping an eye out, guys. If you ever see something like this instead of that 403 message, you can start worrying for real. For now, though, no problem. Back soon…
11 CommentsMonth: February 2014
So you still don’t think Google Glass is creepy? Well how ’bout when New York City cops are testing it? (H/T MJR) “The repentant informant.” This article on liberty’s former friend Stacy Litz was published last year. The reporter (whose name really, truly is Jason Nark) interviewed me but forgot to tell me when the story hit, which is why I’m late with the news. I’m not quoted, but he does reference the booklet the Commentariat collaborated on: Rats! So pat yourselves on the back. You’re famous. 🙂 Cops do the usual no-knock dawn raid. On the usual word of…
9 CommentsSpeaking of “To Serve Man” … Americanmercenary and his family test their food preparations using Augason Farms survival packs and the regular contents of their pantry. So far not bad. Augason Farms is the company that’s helped turn my local Walmart into a prepper haven. They definitely make a good quality product that’s still selling strongly here two years after I discovered it disappearing healthily from Mr. Walton’s shelves. (Walmart, however, still seems unable to decide whether #10 cans of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods belong in the grocery section, the outdoor area, or someplace else altogether. It’s a hunt every…
17 CommentsOf course, how would they know? No word on the restaurant’s policy toward NSA agents, unfortunately. (Yes, yes, and I know somebody’s going to make a wisecrack about “To Serve Man.” So consider that already said. Or go ahead if you can come up with a really clever variation.) (Source)
5 CommentsNew Yorkers aren’t snitching on their friends and neighbors who own “illegal” guns. (H/T MJR)
6 CommentsTen reasons to quit working so hard. Does the new CBO report put the final nail in the Obamacare coffin? That might be a tad optimistic. But the report just ain’t pretty, no matter how Big O’s flappers try to spin it. MWD, who sent this development thinks it’s a world-altering change. Welllll … In any case, it’s a hopeful sign for privacy. “I am sending a bag of these to every member of Congress to show my deepest gratitude.” (Hilariously scatological reviews from Amazon customers on a product that may just be slightly defective. Courtesy of MamaLiberty.) Also from…
15 CommentsWatched the SuperBowl last night. First football game I’ve seen in 20 years. But I used to love pro football and with “my” Seahawks playing (not to mention this being the Stoner Bowl), I had to tune in on the computer. Funny how the game seemed pre-ordained to go the Seahawks way from its first seconds. The instant that flubbed first snap flew over Peyton Manning’s head and the ‘Hawks fell on it for a safety just 12 seconds into the game (earliest score ever in a SuperBowl), the Broncos seemed out of focus, off their game — and doomed.…
24 CommentsA most marvelous obituary. (Via JDZ at Never Yet Melted, which today also offers — you gotta hand it to the Internet — a recipe for a previously fictional, but highly useful, survival food.) Google Glass and facial-recognition apps. Not completely evil yet, but how long before they get there? (H/T MJR) I love movies. So of course I loved the talent and quirky presence of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman, you ass, how could you die in such a damn, stupid, entirely avoidable way? Two good articles on his admirable talents here and here. Gun control: “Un-American and anti-Negro.” The…
10 CommentsA few days ago, a friend sent me this article: “You don’t want your privacy: Disney and the meat-space data race.”
It’s by “data scientist” John Foreman (I put that in quotes only because I’m not sure what all “data science” might encompass), who says a) that the most egregious electronic privacy violations will be in our off-line lives and b) We’re going to cooperate happily and fully. Not going to cooperate. But are cooperating. Privacy — right now! — is as “over” as bustles and moustache wax.
Although Foreman recognizes the creepiness of omni-tracking, he embraces it with cheer — heading off to Disney World with his family, every member sporting an RFID bracelet that will know everywhere they’ve been, everything they’ve bought, every food item they’ve ordered — and even how long they’ll spend on one of Mickey’s toilets if something they ate gives them diarrhea.
My friend said he just couldn’t wait for the great blog I’d make of this. And he asked me to send his regards to Katherine Albrecht. A few years ago when Katherine and her associate Liz McIntyre wrote their book Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID, my friend scoffed at their predictions.
Now? Not so much scoffing going on.
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I’m going to have to disappoint my friend, though. He was probably expecting a rant so passionate it would set BHM’s pixels on fire or maybe a tutorial on RFID hacking or RFID safety.
Nope.
18 Comments