Geek Stuff category archive
Geeking Out 0
Slackware 14.2 with the Fluxbox window manager using the Operation style.
Afterthought:
I may have posted a screenshot with this wallpaper before, but, frankly, I never get tired of this background.
Facebook Frolics 0
The Zuckerborg takes a tip from the musical Hair and sings, “Assimilation can make you mine.”
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month (October 3, 2019). Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
It May Be Artificial, but It’s Not Intelligent 0
Listen to Harry Shearer interview Gary Marcus on why AI is not a thing on the September 22, 2019, edition of Le Show.
In related news, Bobby Azarian points out that one of the things that machine learning enables said machines to learn is bigotry and prejudice. A snippet:
Fast /= intelligent.
Sporadic Bloggery (Updated) 0
Our ISP is dealing with some connectivity issues in the neighborhood of PVF HQ.
I happened to run into one of ISP’s techs, and he told me some of the issues they encountered over the last few weeks have been related to Dorian, which sideswiped our area–the strong winds blew moisture into some of their equipment, but it’s taken time for the moisture to seep into the equipment deeply enough to do any damage.
Addendum, the Next Day:
The hardware issues got fixed last night. They were more serious than I realized; when we turned on the television yesterday evening, the cable, not just the internet, was out. The cable came back on about 6:30 p., but my cable modem (supplied by my ISP) will not connect, so a tech is scheduled to be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m checking in with by cell phone hot spot from time to time.
The Internet of Strings 0
So you still think that the connected home is a good thing?
Suckering the Suckers 0
Mike Brooks takes a look why people take the click-bait. A snippet:
Those clickbait headlines make us curious to see what’s behind the curtain, so to speak. To quote the sagacious, Forrest Gump, who was quoting his mother, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month (September 5, 2019). Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
The Watchers 0
The IoT is spreading its voyeuristic web. Now it’s doorbell cameras being made available to law enforcement.
From the story (emphasis added):
Ring users can decline video access requests by police officers.
I am certain that there’s no way this guarantee can be circumvented. After all, we never hear news stories about outfits getting hacked, do we?
It’s All about the Algorithm, “Googling Is Believing” Dept. 0
David and his guest discuss how the internet feeds confirmation bias.
Geeking Out 0
Listening to Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring Dick Powell, from the Old Time Radio Network Library on Real Player in a VirtualBox virtual machine of Windows 8 on Ubuntu MATE using the Fluxbox window manager on my Zareason media box.
When They’ve Got Your Number . . . 0
. . . it turns out that they really have got your number.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
Nancy LeTourneau reports on Youtube’s “recommendation engine” and what the engine spawned engineered in Brazil.
Geeking Out 0
The Fluxbox window manager with the looksClearblue theme on Ubuntu MATE on my Zareason mediabox. The background is from my library.
Customer Care 0
I got a call from the “business development” arm of my hosting provider yesterday to inquire as to what needs I might have. They call about once a quarter.
After introductory pleasantries, I informed the caller that my site is not a business site, but a hobbyist site (unsaid was, “So whatever you’re selling, I ain’t buying”). He asked, “By the way, what’s the hobby?”
I said, “Running a website.”
That’s when he started laughing . . . .
(By the by, I am quite happy with my hosting provider, particularly with the tech support, which has proven extremely competent. It’s the calibre of the tech support that keeps me with them. I don’t need tech support often, because I generally know what I’m doing, but, when I do need it, I need it bad.)