From Pine View Farm

December, 2018 archive

Driven to Distraction Destruction 0

Frank Harris, III, is not sanguine. A nugget:

Yet, as we close out the final days of this year, I feel, as undoubtedly so many others feel, like I am in the back seat of a car being driven by an impaired driver — except this time, the car is America, and the driver is our American president.

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Wall-Eyed Piker 0

Donald Trump peering through a gap in a cinder-block wall saying,

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Unsealed Team 0

And it’s just going to get worse, folks.

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QOTD 0

Charles Kettering:

A problem thoroughly understood is always fairly simple. Found your opinions on facts, not prejudices. We know too many things that are not true.

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“True Believers” 0

Image:  Child and Old Man in room with Christmas tree.  Child is labeled

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Twits on Twitter 0

Elie Mystal points out that Twitter is basically a fact-free zone and pretty much everybody knows it.

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It’s All an Act, Folks 0

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Second Thoughts 0

Lady Liberty thinks to herself,

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The Courage of Their Conniptions, Reprise 0

Bobby Azarian attempts to understand the unwavering loyalty of Trump’s base, suggesting 14 reasons to account for it. Here’s one of the less disturbing ones; follow the link for the others.

3. America’s Obsession with Entertainment and Celebrities

Essentially, the loyalty of Trump supporters may in part be explained by America’s addiction with entertainment and reality TV. To some, it doesn’t matter what Trump actually says because he’s so amusing to watch. With the Donald, you are always left wondering what outrageous thing he is going to say or do next. He keeps us on the edge of our seat, and for that reason, some Trump supporters will forgive anything he says. They are happy as long as they are kept entertained.

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All the News that Fits 0

Fox News talking head wearing MAGA hat and

Via Job’s Anger.

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Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0

Another grocery store Trumpling.

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QOTD 0

Daniel Bell:

The one thing that would utterly destroy the new capitalism is the serious practice of deferred gratification.

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And Now for a Blast from the Past 0

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Wading into the Blackwater 0

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Digital Door Openers 0

If you are considering getting–or have already gotten–one of those web-based digital assistants and have all kinds of internet enabled gadgets and geegaws, you may want to think again. Two researchers at William and Mary have been investigating that stuff, and what they found is not reassuring. Here’s a bit:

For example, let’s say you want to change the temperature of your thermostat. You pull up your smart home app on your mobile phone and tell it to turn up the heat. The app will then write a change to the target temperature variable in the centralized data store. The thermostat device will subsequently receive an update from the data store and change its temperature accordingly. The system works because apps and devices are able to communicate by reading from or writing to variables in the centralized data store.

The problem, Nadkarni and Poshyvanyk explained, is that a data store-based system provides hackers the ability to access all devices in the home, from light switches to security alarms. An adversary can compromise one low-integrity product, like a sprinkler or a third-party lighting app, and modify a data store variable that another high-integrity product, such as a security alarm, depends on. This can have a whole host of unwanted consequences.

This example is particularly telling for us, as we just got a new heating system which includes precisely the sort of function described above.

We opted not to get the app. Dammit, we are not so lazy that we cannot walk upstairs and push a button, for Pete’s sake.

Remember, as manufacturers rush to push out new digital gadgets, security is always an afterthought.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Cleanliness is next to politeness.

The man told police he had accidentally shot his friend as he was cleaning the weapon, the report noted. A witness also told police she was hanging out in a bedroom as the man was cleaning the handgun.

(snip)

“He advised that he was cleaning the gun and removed the magazine. He advised he then checked the magazine and did not see a bullet inside,” the report noted. “He then advised he pulled the trigger so that he could disengage the slide to remove it. He advised that once he pulled the trigger, the gun went off.”

The story also mentions that he was so caught up in fondling his portable penis cleaning the gun that he did not realize the woman was shot until he heard her screams.

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The Fixer 0

Donald Trump standing in the wreckage of the Federal government saying,

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A Shunning City on a Hill 0

In the Roanoke Times, a descendant of pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower pens a stunning rebuke to the cold-hearted callousness of Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security, and by extension, to the administration in which she serves. An excerpt:

Being a true American is not about gaining access to this land and then shutting the door on those who come after whom you happen not to like. Being a true American is about signing on to the unwritten mandate that requires us to work to build a more humane, more just, more loving society than what we are today and have been in the past. We are here to forward the principles of liberty, equality, and justice for all, including those who come knocking on our door asking to be let in, asking to be part of the great quest for these ideals, challenging those of us who came before to live up to them. This quest includes even or should I say especially those who were brought here against their will from Africa, but who now strive willingly to help all Americans achieve the dream.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Facebook is the Wells Fargo of “social” media.

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QOTD 0

Terry Eagleton:

All propaganda or popularization involves a putting of the complex into the simple, but such a move is instantly deconstructive. For if the complex can be put into the simple, then it cannot be as complex as it seemed in the first place; and if the simple can be an adequate medium of such complexity, then it cannot after all be as simple as all that.

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