Wired has the background on just what the fedspies did that prompted Ladar Levison to shut down the privacymail service, Lavabit. It was a heck of a principled thing Levison did, and a gutsy one, shutting down a service with 400,000 paying (including about 10k paying; correction from Steve in comments) customers rather than betray those who trusted him. We already knew that. What we didn’t know (among other things) was how he handled the fed demand when he was finally forced into a corner after a hard fight: The judge also rejected Lavabit’s motion to unseal the record. “This…
Category: Books and Movies
Movie: The Movie Okay, this has been around for a year already. But it’s still funny as all get out. And how, oh how, did Kimmel’s crew manage to get all those megastars to cooperate — then coordinate them? (Via Never Yet Melted)
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?)
… 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…
Loving a bad dog. (Oh yeah. Been there …) News of the weird. Shelley’s Ozymandias. Um … with socks. Wall Street deals in physical commodities. Commodities producers operate hedge funds and sell derivitives. And there, and there, and there go the trillions. I really like Ricky Gervais and I want to see this. For anybody who still doubts that Edward Snowden did the right thing. Won’t get anywhere. Not enough. But the Surveillance State Repeal Act is a start. Yes, we already know that the fedgov is run not merely by narcissists but by full-blown sociopaths. Still, this Salon piece…
… you know, those old-timey tech books that covered everything from steam-engine design to kiln building to embalming? You’ll be happy to know they’re back. Most of them, anyway. JW writes to say that Lindsay’s — which went OOB a while back — was purchased and its products are now available via Your Old Time Bookstore. So should you ever need to hand-craft a coffin or should you want to get your son (or daughter) a copy of Electrical Things Boys Like to Make! (complete with exclamation point), you can do it once again. NFI on my part. But I…
(Source) This Labor Day morning I found myself singing one of the greatest working-man songs ever. “Sixteen Tons” found its perfect voice in Tennessee Ernie Ford, who made a bazillion dollars off it in the 1950s. A few years earlier, its original author/singer didn’t fare so well. He got a visit from the feds, among other things. For writing a subversive song and being a “communist sympathizer” (though in fact songwriter Merle Travis was a patriotic country boy). Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Today the armed hysterics would just use different terminology about people they fear. —-…
Carl-Bear (who occasionally traffics in science fiction) makes his best guess about what Elon Musk’s mysterious new “hyperloop” transportation system will be. And finds it familiar. One more (rather weird) way that the rich are different than the poor. Different toxins in their bodies. Government forces one privacy option out of business (in the creepiest way). A new privacy option is born. Not in the U.S. of course. Nobody in their right mind would base a privacy service in the U.S. from here on out. Small business? The IRS wants to know what you’re doing with your cash — and…
This is pretty cool. (Source) The audience isn’t you and me, of course. It’s little girls in Pakistan who are suffering under religious fanaticism. The trailer’s in English, but the actual series is in Urdu. (And yeah, the fact that the Avenger chooses to wear a burka has been addressed. It’s not a symbol of oppression if you choose it — and use it as the Lady in Black does.)
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…