Good news from RickH regarding the continuation of TheHomeScientist.com posted yesterday. Read thru his announcement, and take a look at the site to provide feedback please.
About 60F and a bit drier here in Houston. NOAA says two days of clear weather. We’ll see, but it sure would be nice to have a long comfortable spring this year. I’ve still got plenty to do in the yard and garden.
Another package bomb, this time in a FedEx facility outside San Antonio. Probably headed for Austin. This would be the third different type of bomb. I understand that to be very unusual as most bombers find something that works and stick with it. Maybe it’s a copycat, maybe it’s someone testing out different designs, maybe it’s a personal grudge. If this bomber continues, I’m sure we’ll find out who it is. If not, it will be an interesting look at insurgency, tradecraft, etc. Imagine that the victims are prosecutors, judges, politicians, police, prominent bloggers, activists, etc. There are people that WANT this, can’t hardly wait for it, and will be working their way down a list. I really don’t want to get to that point, so keep talking to the other side please.
That’s it for now,
n
25º and Sunny here. Looks to be clear most of the week, though the North East is looking at another Nor’Easter.
Careful consideration leads me to believe that social media is a bad thing for people. Buffering news by even a few hours prevents a positive feedback loop that makes even minor annoyances national news. Right now, if the president tweets, thousands of people are responding immediately. It’s a mob, not a conversation.
In other news, PA gets new districts courtesy of a Democrat-packed state Supreme Court. Yes, the old map was gerrymandered. The proposed replacement was as neutral as it could be but was rejected by the Supremes. The new map, provided by a California educator, is even more gerrymandered the other way. Now the courts are drawing the maps instead of the state house.
The thing about the more conservative voters is that we tend to be quieter. Slow to anger. I’ll be curious to see how riled this gets voters.
This would be the third different type of bomb.
If I were to do a series of nasty things and I didn’t want to get caught I would constantly change it up. Predictability and commonality is how the investigators home in on a perpetrator. But changing from a known method to something new opens up the possibility of a mistake or failure; like the premature detonation at Fed Ex San Antonio.
I guess it depends on how much thought the bad guy put into this ahead of time. Of course, if you really put thought into it, you don’t do it. Too many cameras, sensors, web trackers, etc. to get away with anything big for very long these days.
It took nearly 20 years to catch the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
Too much credit is given to “profilers”. Finding these creeps is more often than not a case of dumb luck.
It took nearly 20 years to catch the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
Too much credit is given to “profilers”. Finding these creeps is more often than not a case of dumb luck.
IIRC, Kaczynski’s brother turned him in.
The really smart ones don’t ever get caught. Kaczynski was really smart, but was caught out by a weakness (his brother).
What scares me is what a really smart person with no ego could get away with.
Anyone can get away with something once. That is a plot point in Matt Bracken’s first distopian novel. The lead character takes her vengeance on a politician and then stops and leaves.
n
Not a mass shooting because it was STOPPED–
“BREAKING NEWS: Three critically injured after student walks into Maryland high school and shoots a teenage boy and girl before being taken down in exchange of gunfire with armed resource officer”
” Multiple people have been injured after a shooting at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland Tuesday morning
St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said that the gunman shot at a female student shortly after classes began at 8:15am
Another male student was also hit with a bullet
The gunman was then injured after a shootout with a school resource officer”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5522647/Multiple-injuries-shooting-Maryland-high-school.html
What scares me is what a really smart person with no ego could get away with.
Both Dr. Pournelle and our late host often pointed out that many of their readers could think of at least half a dozen ways to bring down an airliner if they were so inclined.
The independent contractors working for Amazon, delivering packages around Austin, are often freaky looking, even the folks driving USPS trucks on Sunday in my neighborhood outside the Travis County circus. I’ve often wondered if the company did sufficient screening. Profiling and isolating the bomber (assuming it is one person) will be a challenge.
I agree, the profilers aren’t nearly as good as they are portrayed on TV. I’m talking about good ol’ gumshoe detectives. If you do things the same way every time they’ll figure it out and be waiting for you the next time you go out.
It is way too early to tell what is going on in Texas. The only thing for certain is that there is a very angry person or group that has escalated to the next step.
It is way too early to tell what is going on in Texas. The only thing for certain is that there is a very angry person or group that has escalated to the next step.
Austin doesn’t have a shortage of angry Progs. I still see “Stand With Wendy” bumper stickers on cars running around Metro Austin/Travis County, and the mainstream state-level Dems disowned that meme four years ago when Project Veritas exposed them spitballing that concept.
(For the uninitiated, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is in a wheelchair. Four years ago, his opponent, Wendy Davis, only one a single county — Travis — after running a mostly negative campaign based on one issue: Who has Y chromosomes and who doesn’t.)
My first equinox at the new place, I took the opportunity to walk out and take a cell phone picture of the sunrise down the east-west dirt road. It isn’t APOD quality, but it reminds me that seasons are changing.
It’s the two month anniversary of losing RBT, it still continues to surprise me. It’s good to hear The Home Scientist business is going forward, and checking in on Barbara’s page she seems to be handling things as well as anyone can at such a time.
How low will it go? Hilarious.
Zuckerberg and “Lean In” have no clue about how to stop the carnage. They are conspicuously absent right now.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-20/sp-nasdaq-red-facebook-carnage-continues
As someone who has basically stopped watching TV completely (except some of the olympics) for the last year, I find this site fascinating…
https://socialblade.com/
It purports to figure out the youtube revenue of content creators. I am watching a dozen channels on youtube in lieu of watching tv. While I don’t believe or trust the revenue figures (several channels have revealed their earnings, and earnings depend on a number of factors, and the estimated range is LARGE) the aggregated numbers for views, subs, and uploads are interesting to me.
An old guy, literally in a shed in England, has 5.8 MILLION views of his “waffling” and pottering around in his sheds.
Keith Rucker (who has done a great service to the old machine restoration community) has over 21 MILLION views.
Mustie1, from whom I’ve learned a great deal about small engine repair, has over a thousand videos uploaded and over 43 million views. And yet, he’s 48K DOWN the list in views!
In other words, these guys are pikers when it comes to social media content creators, and still they’ve had 70 MILLION views between them. Holy Cr@p! Does anyone else see the death of broadcast TV in numbers like this??
n
added- wrt my previous comments about economy and social manipulation, a quick look at the first 15 channels that have “Van life” in the description or name (and these are not the most popular or anything like a complete list) and they have 132 MILLION views between them. Most of the channels glorify van life…
In other words, these guys are pikers when it comes to social media content creators, and still they’ve had 70 MILLION views between them. Holy Cr@p! Does anyone else see the death of broadcast TV in numbers like this??
“Big” network broadcast TV maybe. ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox.
In an interview I heard recently with Rich Koz (“Svengoolie” on MeTV), he noted that local horror hosts are starting to make a comeback as the station managers see Koz’s show and say to themselves, “Gee, we could do something like that”.
MeTV numbers were good running “Svengoolie” against SNL during the election in 2016, and they currently counterprogram with classic “Star Trek” at 11/10 Central.
500 channels and nothing on, vs. self created and freely shared content, most focused on niche interest, with almost infinite number of channels.
Those are some fragmented audiences right there, and yet in aggregate they are huge.
n
average viewership of NFL game is 15M, viewership for the last season of CSI:Miami looks like around 10million
@ed, yeah, there is a hole there every time I have a question that I know RBT would have the answer to…
n
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Facebook is just a passing fad.
As Facebook management continues to force their views on people and become more invasive of privacy they will just drive people away. There are a couple of dozen other options when it comes to posting pictures of what you ate for dinner. I try to avoid any business that uses Facebook as their homepage. I don’t think I’m alone in that respect.
Dunno about Facebook going away. Somehow, once companies reach a critical size, they never seem to really disappear. Look at IBM or AT&T as examples of companies that looked like they were dying. There is just too much money in play; people rescue businesses of that size.
On the topic of OFD: Sent off another postcard today. Anyone heard anything from Liz? It’d be nice to know if there’s anything new, if he’s still in the same place, etc.. Otherwise, I could call the hospital, but I’m not sure if they will provide information to some random guy on the phone.
I noted (on Facebook) this morning that Twitter is nothing but shouting and no conversations. I’m starting to feel the same about Facebook. I still have conversations there, though, so I stick around. Most of the curated content and “look at these” posts I simply skip over.
Twitter is useful to me. I have a couple of feeds embedded on web pages that show ONLY my posts, so it’s useful for posting the same information in multiple places from something like my phone. But the social aspects of it are lost on me.
I’m thinking of a vaca from Facebook. It would probably be good for me. So many voices, so little discussion.
Dunno about Facebook going away. Somehow, once companies reach a critical size, they never seem to really disappear. Look at IBM or AT&T as examples of companies that looked like they were dying. There is just too much money in play; people rescue businesses of that size.
Jury is still out on IBM. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the rest of hardware go to Lenovo while GBS (the much-maligned consulting division) ends up at CGI.
As for AT&T, check the logo. I had a front row seat for that transformation. The company currently trading under ‘T’ is essentially a Baby Bell on steroids. You aren’t going to get the next transistor, cell phone, or laser out of “at&t” as is.
If the courts reject the Time-Warner merger, look for AT&T to dump California and the Uverse tech onto Frontier, just like Verizon did more or less with legacy GTE (another one of my career stops).
“Makita’s Coffee Maker Runs on Power Tool Batteries”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/359939/makitas-coffee-maker-runs-on-power-tool-batteries
The ultimate prepper accessory ?
@brad, I haven’t heard from Liz, and I pinged her again before I left on my spring break trip. I’m hoping no news is good news, and pushing on.
n
Look at IBM or AT&T as examples of companies that looked like they were dying.
Those companies provided unique and useful services and equipment to thousands of businesses. Their incompetence in some areas put them in jeopardy but they were never in danger of completely disappearing. At worst they would have restructured and emerged with a new name.
Facebook could disappear in a flash tomorrow and, other than the wailing and gnashing of teeth of some teenagers, the only people really affected would be Facebook employees. Most of them would just move on to the next gig.
Anyone been on Myspace recently?
n
added- I see they still exist. I’d heard they were popular in south america…
There was another one too, had a funny name with too many vowels iirc…
Hah, after several days of empty traps, but still evidence of my ongoing rat problem, I got TWO last night. One small one on a glue pad, and one MUCH bigger one with the combo of glue pad and snap trap. Teats on the big one too, so got a breeder. Man I want this to be done so I can get my stores back in order.
n
“Makita’s Coffee Maker Runs on Power Tool Batteries”
The ultimate prepper accessory ?
The batteries change over too frequently. I just sent a 10 year-old Japanese brand (Hitachi?) cordless drill to Goodwill because the batteries of the right shape were no longer widely available in this country.
Amazon has a seller importing the cells (naturally), but each battery is more than the cost of a comparable new drill from a big box store.
I bought an adapter so I can use most of my old 18v Nimh dewalt set with the new 20v lithium packs. It was cheaper to buy than to re-cell all my old packs, and they charge quicker, last longer, and are significantly lighter. Some pieces of my dewalt set have only been used a time or two (like the jig saw, or the cutoff grinder.)
I got a drill driver with 2 Li bats and two chargers for christmas, and that prompted the upgrade. The adapter and batts were also cheaper than replacing everything.
n
Oh, I’m doing yet more updates on the OFD project pc….
n
Oh, I’m doing yet more updates on the OFD project pc….
You know, mickeysoft should provide monthly rollups of their updates onto the base release. I have no idea why they stopped creating service packs but I suspect the corporate guys picking which individual updates to apply has something to do with that.
“Electoral College lawsuit seeks to split Texas’ 38 votes”
http://www.gopusa.com/electoral-college-lawsuit-seeks-to-split-texas-38-votes/
“Federal lawsuits filed simultaneously in Texas and three other states are seeking to end the system that awards every electoral vote to the winning presidential candidate in each state.”
I am continuously blown away by the dumbocrats trying to win in the election booth via the court system. On this kind of thinking, Senators should get districts in every state instead of running statewide. Wait, did I say that ? Uh oh, probably gonna be a lawsuit next week.
Updated the firmware, then had to install an AV, so went with Security Essentials. Been running that here for years. Then that had to update, and now it’s scanning………………..
n
It’s possible justice will be done in this case, but unlikely given the history of the city and the nature of the killer’s circumstances.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5524189/Minneapolis-cop-shot-dead-Australian-woman-charged-murder.html
n
You know, mickeysoft should provide monthly rollups of their updates onto the base release. I have no idea why they stopped creating service packs but I suspect the corporate guys picking which individual updates to apply has something to do with that.
WSUS Offline Update is one way around the lack of service packs. It can be a pain to use starting from a “clean” Win 7 SP 1 install, however.
http://download.wsusoffline.net/
“Electoral College lawsuit seeks to split Texas’ 38 votes”
Of course, CA’s “winner takes all” system remains intact.
David Boies needs to stop fighting “Bush v. Gore”. 18 years is enough.
I guess it didn’t help that Bush wiped out Boies anti-trust work and let Microsoft off the hook, but, as Obama pointed out on at least one occasion, elections have consequences.
(Microsoft finally sold off the last of the Campus 2.0 land last year and committed to rebuilding Redmond with more green spaces, similar to Apple’s “spaceship”.)
One man – one vote. Had much to do with ruining California when our state senators went from 2 per county (like the fed system) and were redistricted by population. The coastal areas took all the power and south more than the north.
Updated the firmware, then had to install an AV, so went with Security Essentials. Been running that here for years. Then that had to update, and now it’s scanning………………..
Lenovo released new T420 firmware?
I have replacement mouse pad stickers for that machine. I’ll send them sooner or later.
Having the sticker provide swipe texture is my biggest gripe about the laptop’s design. You can take the sticker off, but the surface of the mouse pad is too smooth. Leave the sticker in place, and it needs replacement every six months or so.
@greg, it seems they did. Their update tool d/l and ran the firmware updater.
I am starting to like the textured touch pad. I was a track ball guy for a long time, but finally came over to the dark side. NEVER got any good use from the pointing stick.
And now there is another round of windows updates….
n
This story is more and more of a dumpster fire every day…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5524031/PICTURED-Felon-wheel-killer-self-driving-Uber-car.html
now the “safety driver” is a 2x convicted felon with a 4 year stretch, who transitioned from identifying as male to identifying as female some time between prison and Uber. The woman the car killed was also a convict, albeit for lesser offenses.
n
One man – one vote. Had much to do with ruining California when our state senators went from 2 per county (like the fed system) and were redistricted by population. The coastal areas took all the power and south more than the north.
California really needs to split into two states. Them that are crazy liberal and them that are trying to run their small businesses without fifteen state inspectors bullying them each month. Not gonna happen though.
This story is more and more of a dumpster fire every day…
As Glenn Reynolds is wont to say: “This is the 21st century, after all!”
Laugh of the day:
Coatbridge man’s video of Nazi salute dog is a hate crime, court rules
https://tinyurl.com/ycgu2f66
“Help! I’m being repressed!”
To quote myself, “One cannot give offense, only take it.”
No free speech in canadia either. Not for nuthin’ that the founding fathers made that Statement number ONE, of the things they KNEW people would try to misinterpret.
n
Laugh of the day:
Coatbridge man’s video of Nazi salute dog is a hate crime, court rules
You laugh today. You won’t laugh when Hillary becomes President in 2020, “The Woman in the High Castle”
https://amgreatness.com/2018/03/05/woman-high-castle/
I figure that I will be arrested in her first year as a Climate Change Denier.
Did you see her in the “not another inexperienced Trump” video? Her head was bobbling around like a bobble head doll. She can’t hold herself still. I’m no doctor, but I’d be surprised if they can keep the skinsuit alive long enough for the lizard inside to find a new home….
I saw her tripping down those steps in India, even with the two guys holding her up. She needs a walker or a couple of canes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5493679/Hillary-Clinton-slips-twice-stairs-trip-India.html
I figure that they will keep on replacing the lizard until they find one that works. For the 2020 election, they will probably find a guy with a close resemblance to Andre the Giant, and graft the two of them together. Then the Andre clone can walk for her and she can stand on his feet.
“NOAA Data Tampering Approaching 2.5 Degrees”
https://realclimatescience.com/2018/03/noaa-data-tampering-approaching-2-5-degrees/
“NOAA’s US temperature record shows that US was warmest in the 1930’s and has generally cooled as CO2 has increased. This wrecks greenhouse gas theory, so they “adjust” the data to make it look like the US is warming.”
“The NOAA data tampering produces a spectacular hockey stick of scientific fraud, which becomes the basis of vast amounts of downstream junk climate science. Pre-2000 temperatures are progressively cooled, and post-2000 temperatures are warmed. This year has been a particularly spectacular episode of data tampering by NOAA, as they introduce nearly 2.5 degrees of fake warming since 1895.”
I don’t know what Climate Science is but, it is not a science.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
Did you see her in the “not another inexperienced Trump” video?
IANAD, nor do I play one on TV, but my best SWAG is Tardive dyskinesia.
There’s only three months’ difference between our ages, so on strictly humanitarian grounds I have some sympathy for what’s happening to her, but physically there’s no way for her to survive even one term if she were to win in 2020.
And, thinking of Hitler in May of ’45, there’s always the charming possibility that if Hillary sees that her number is up, she may decide to take the whole country along with her.
Rick is busy dealing with any issues to the site, if you can read this he’s fixing stuff….
n
Testing … is this thing on????
n
Ok, seems to be back up live for now….
Works for me.
UP and Down, currently UP!
n