January, 2020 archive
Bonnie and Clyde Junior 0
To Florida Man, add Florida Woman.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The Trump administration moves to roll back the clock on housing discrimination.
Inviting Big Data into Your World 0
The EFF reports that there is a Ring of eyes recording all you do. Here’s an excerpt; follow the link for the rest (emphasis added).
The danger in sending even small bits of information is that analytics and tracking companies are able to combine these bits together to form a unique picture of the user’s device. This cohesive whole represents a fingerprint that follows the user as they interact with other apps and use their device, in essence providing trackers the ability to spy on what a user is doing in their digital lives and when they are doing it. All this takes place without meaningful user notification or consent and, in most cases, no way to mitigate the damage done.
Epidemiology 0
Robert Barholomew warns us not to be blinded by the panicky news coverage and even more panicky “social” media “shares” about the Coronavirus. Here’s some excerpts:
During the 2018-2019 flu season in the United States, about 75% of all deaths were age 65+. Roughly 17% were between 50-64. These two categories comprise 91% of all deaths. But look closer and you will see that many of them had an array of pre-existing conditions that left them with weakened immune systems. Early reports from China back this up, most of those who have died were already in poor health.
(snip)
There is a real danger that social media will spread fear and confusion.
Read the whole thing and inoculate yourself against hysterical hype.
Macho Macho Men 0
The writer of the second letter to the editor of my local rag at this link, absolutely nails it.
Some of the other letters at the link unwittingly make his case.
Starr Turns 0
No self-awareness. No self-awareness whatsoever.
QOTD 0
Michael Weatherly, in the voice of Tony Dinozzo:
If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you always got.
Ordering Take-Out 0
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
In the Great White North, the hunt for politeness continues.
One wonders, was it his fluffy white tail or his long furry ears, or are the rabbits just bigger in Canada?
How Far Did Wells-Fargo? 0
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Lee Schafer, pretty damn far.
