Deep Web. Looks like an intriguing documentary. (H/T GL) Why does Google want to harvest and store your media for “free”? The four most dangerous words in the English language. (Tip o’ hat to MJR) And 24+ words that ought to be in the English language. (Ditto — and not all the words are SFW.) As usual, The Onion has the best commentary on our newly granted “FREEDOM” from NSA snooping and scooping. (H/T jed) Well, maybe. Millennials are destroying banks and the banks are to blame. Dunno if it’s worth $100k to learn the dreadful details of the secret…
Category: Miscellaneous
Xterra’s in the shop today. Well, not a shop, per se. It’s under a shade-tree mechanic’s carport. Well, not a mechanic, per se. He’s actually the guy who cuts my lawn. But he also buys old beater cars, restores, and sells them. So I’m figuring he knows what he’s doing. Works cheap, too. And one thing’s for sure: he’s not going to robotically tell me, “Well, the computer code says …” like the other two mechanics who’ve had their mitts on my precious transport. But I worry. The idle’s been getting rougher and rougher. Dying at stop signs sometimes. Then…
The TSA failed 95% of the tests to find explosives. But not to worry. They reliably found 95% of breasts, crotches, prosthetic limbs, knitting needles, and sippy cups. (H/T LA) Soooo, while we’re all rejoicing over the momentary illusion that the NSA will no longer be scooping up all our edata, the FBI steps flies to the fore. (And where do they get all these Orwellian names? USA Freedom Act? Because it orders the phone companies to do all the collecting on behalf of the uber-government? Who do they think they’re fooling?) This month is the 800th anniversary of the…
Somebody over at Examiner.com has begun disappearing David Codrea’s columns on phony premises. Ironic considering David’s earlier censorship by the new JPFO. Really bad considering David gets paid by the page view for his Examiner work. Here, have a cigar. But only if you’re rich enough to qualify for the “crony exemption.” The corruption of DA’s offices. It just gets deeper and dirtier. (H/T S) So Ross Ulbricht thought he was better than the laws of this country. But then (as Neil Smith likes to point out) we’re all better than the the law. Sounds as if the judge sentenced…
If somebody in private enterprise did this — let alone did it again and again — heads would roll, congressthings would hotly hold hearings, new regulations would strangle business, and the fedgov would mutter about the need to take over entire fields. But … oopsie! (H/T MJR) Here’s one more for the “one term in office and one in jail” concept of term limits. Better yet, former Honorable Speaker Hastert is going down not for some real crime, but for one of those faux crimes that Congress itself invented. “In praise of uncertainty.” The art of running from the police.…
I’m still thinking of the deer-in-the-headlights stare of the mechanic who told me the Xterra needed a $1,100 computer replacement.
He was so obviously, blatantly just guessing. And so obviously dependent on whatever the diagnostic code said. “P1320? Not the distributor? Not wiring? Then it can only be the ECM. No other possibility.”
Horsefeathers.
It was impossible to get a decent photo (which, I guess, says the camouflage was effective), but that Big Ole Heap O’ Camo and olive drab just below is a USMC wool sweater (always did think those were sharp looking) and a military poncho and poncho liner. Those were just a few of the items in one package I received today from someone I know won’t want to be named. That type of poncho liner is better known as a woobie for the comfort it offers cold, weary soldiers. It’s also one of the few pieces of military gear in…
“How Baltimore Became Pottersville.” Bovard riffs on the glories of HUD. Why Mozilla’s decision to attempt to push all sites from http to https
The case against modern science. Fom the editor of one of the world’s most eminent medical journals. (H/T SC) It’s the time of year for dragging up old commencement speeches. The best ever, of course, was from J.K. Rowling at Harvard in 2008. But two years ago, Joss Whedon gave one as only he could give it. Senate panel gives the okay for medical marijuana for veterans. It’s a step. And at the fed level where steps are badly needed. But oh! The horror! We’ll soon all be home-brewing heroin. The government! Must! DO SOMETHING! About this! (Tip o’ hat…
Another terrific one from Ken at Popehat. How to spot (and counter) covert advocacy of censorship. I’ve never downloaded anything from a torrent site. I’m against any form of piracy that deprives creators of the rewards they’ve earned. Still … The Pirate Bay has panache. The usual anti-gun and “hate group” suspects band together to promote ballots over bullets. Um, yeah. Good luck with those ballots when you’re being threatened by thug government. The liberation of Dachau and the righteous rage of the liberators. “Oh, my gold!” Yet another company tries to do what egold did. (The poster says BitGold…