Wed. July 29, 2020 – Halfway to more of the same

Hot and wet.

Not only was it super humid and warm yesterday, it rained too.    I managed to unload my auction delivery just as the drops started falling.   Did my pickups and headed home.

Spent most of the rest of the day indoors, except that I cleaned the pool, and cut the grass in the back yard.  It was soggy, but I figured I better get it done before it rains again.  I picked up the dog bombs and 3 bags of inedible pecans too.  I got a tiny bit of organization done in the garage.

Today I’m hoping to get another truckload of stuff to my other auctioneer.  It’ll depend on his schedule and weather.  More garage work and driveway org too, if the weather is good.


I linked to a couple of videos yesterday.  One shows the results of shooting a suspect TWICE with an AR.  It’s not the instant magic wand of death in every case.  If you aren’t training for follow up shots, you’re probably not doing it right.

The situation in Portland continues to escalate with the rioters now attempting to blind cops with lasers, spray them with bleach (blinding), and they are building bombs to lob at them too.  It’s WAY beyond throwing a pack of firecrackers…  Anarchists throwing bombs.  In 2020.  Everything old is new again.

And it’s spreading.  Tempe AZ had riots.  (home of Arizona State University, but otherwise a smallish town on the edge of Phoenix)  BLM and a laundry list of groups were blocking streets and harassing cops.  I don’t know what the demographics look like now, but when I was there I don’t think there were 10 blacks in the whole city.  But they’ve got riots now.  FFS.

Avoid crowds.  Go armed all the time.  Get some less than lethal for your vehicles.  Check the news to see what’s going on in town before you drive through something you didn’t know about.  Review your state’s use of force laws regarding riots, and attempts to enter your vehicle.  Don’t stop moving.

The economic and social effects are going to make the shutdown look like a walk in the park.  They’re already starting and won’t be getting better for some time.  Stock up while you can.

Got enough fire extinguishers?  After that one year where I was first on the scene at a half dozen wrecks and fires, I’ve now got several in each truck.  I’ve got one next to the kitchen, and one in my master bath.  Big ones.  More than one in the garage, by the door out.  Change the batteries or test your smoke detectors if you haven’t lately.  Change the detectors if they are a few years old.  Add a couple outside the bedrooms, inside the bedrooms, in the hall.  If you close a door at night, put one on each side of the door.  They are small and the new ones last years on a single non-removable battery.

Preps aren’t all freeze dried food and ammo…

Although you should stack those too.

nick

100 Comments and discussion on "Wed. July 29, 2020 – Halfway to more of the same"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    This new switcher has 10 inputs where the old switcher only had 8. Also the BNC connectors are mounted to the frame whereas on the old switcher they were mounted to the circuit board. A much better design.

    I didn’t catch this thread until today.

    I built video switching equipment for a while at Jabil in the early 90s. The constant problem we had was counterfeit Chinese switching chips being substituted for the spec-ed Toshiba *but* with a Toshiba label. The counterfeits would heat to the point that you would burn a finger touching the wrong spot diagnosing the board whereas the Toshibas ran cool. The fakes also burned out fast, but often lasted long enough that we shipped the switch somewhere and took it back under warranty replacement.

    I’m glad I got out of that game.

  2. Pecancorner says:

    Bizarre, but actually happening. The USDA and state Agriculture depts are worried about this:
    People in nearly 30 states mailed unsolicited packets of seeds that may be from China, officials say

    ” Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner, urged Texans not to plant these seeds, as they could contain harmful invasive species or be otherwise unsafe, according to a release. Invasive species are organisms not native to a certain region. The introduction of invasive species could cause the destruction of native crops, introduce diseases to native plants and could be dangerous to livestock.

    “An invasive plant species might not sound threatening, but these small invaders could destroy Texas agriculture,” Miller said in the release. The Texas Department of Agriculture “has been working closely with USDA to analyze these unknown seeds so we can protect Texas residents.”

  3. Ray Thompson says:

    Stick the videos aside and they’ll be there to help someone else figure it out

    They would not be able to figure out how to play the video. I have extensive documentation but would do little good for someone else trouble shooting. Too many things to go wrong, too many variables, it would be a massive document and when the problem arises no time to read the document.

    Once when I was on vacation a fuse blew in the RF modulator. No broadcast. A couple of people, supposedly knowledgeable, could not resolve the issue. They replaced the fuse as it seemed to power related. Then gave up. I came back off vacation and within three minutes found the second fuse that was the problem. The fuse they replaced was fine. They replaced the wrong fuse which had nothing to do with the problem.

    Have you written up the procedures you follow for ordinary operation?

    No, but I have three people trained, to a point. They tend to forget little details which is annoying. I try to have them operate the entire system once a month so at least something stays fresh.

    We rarely had any redundancy at all

    True full redundancy is expensive. And the redundant parts must be used every so often to make certain they are working. A lot of expense for a church and a lot of detail for volunteers.

    The vendor of my equipment told me a story of one event they set up to provide video and screens. Setup and testing was fine. Come time of the event their switcher (same as mine that failed) was no longer working. Instead they moved some output cables to the matrix switch and did the entire event switching inputs-to-outputs using the matrix switch. No transitions, no graphics.

    but no-one else appears to be willing to step up

    It is tough to get volunteers and they tend to be unreliable for showing. I have had a couple of people show interest. I let them sit in the studio for a broadcast. After seeing what has to happen, the attention to detail, the stress of following along with the music director and preacher, making it all work properly, they say no thanks, too much effort.

    I am fortunate that I get paid, $150.00 each Sunday, for doing the broadcast. But my efforts are not sustainable. I need vacations. I am almost 70 and the “bus” could strike anytime. I spent four hours on Wednesday getting the borrowed switcher hook up, firmware update, and setting restored. Installing the new switcher will take perhaps six hours as the rack location will have to change, buttons will have to mapped and labeled, routing configured, and cables relocated. Cables will be relocated because I can eliminate some SDI-HDMI boxes and make a more logical arrangement for connections. I will do all this on Monday to give me a couple of days to make certain it all works.

    I have redrawn the cabling maps (thanks Visio) and have the new routing mapped for the matrix switch. It all looks good on paper.

    The switcher that failed has no power on/off switch and has been powered on for 24 hours a day, seven days a weeks, for almost six years. In fact most of the video equipment in the rack has no power on/off switches and just remain on the entire time. Lack of signal blanks the monitors but they are still powered on at all times. The only thing that is powered on/off is the cameras and the on-camera monitors. I am giving serious though to leaving them on all the time, except they are in the sanctuary and the A/C is shut off during the week and it gets hot.

  4. Ray Thompson says:

    these small invaders could destroy Texas agriculture

    Reference Kudzu. Brought over from Japan to control erosion on railroads. The stuff dies off each winter but is back within weeks to cover the original area and more. It can grow up to three feet a day in ideal conditions. It is invasive, very much invasive. It will take over hillsides, covering trees and all other plants completely decimating any other plants. One place on my street has the stuff growing up the side and over the building (empty). Fellow across the street from me has Kudzu at the edge of his property. Every month he has me come over with my mower and mow the stuff back. My mower struggles. I am usually mowing four feet of the stuff. There is a spray that will kill the plant, for a short term, but that spray is highly regulated. In Japan a beetle ate and controlled the plant. The beetle does not exist here.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    I don’t know what the demographics look like now, but when I was there I don’t think there were 10 blacks in the whole city. But they’ve got riots now. FFS.

    Portland is also very thin on African American demographic. Within the last 100 years, Oregon was a “whites only” state by law, the residency prohibition being lifted in 1926.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    Reference Kudzu. Brought over from China to control erosion on railroads. The stuff dies off each winter but is back within weeks to cover the original area and more.

    In Florida, the problem is Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca, and Australian Pines, but the major issue with eradication is that the plants have their fans, usually found among the malignant two-legged invasive species originating from points north who listened to too much Jimmy Buffett and moved to the state to live “Margaritaville”.

    The trees especially are a look non-natives associate with “Florida”. The Brazilian Pepper appeals because it is “Christmas-y”.

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  7. Pecancorner says:

    In Texas, the Chinese Tallow Tree is wrecking coastal wild areas, and the commercial bee-keepers are largely to blame for some of its spread. Between paying crops, they do not want to have to feed their bees sugar water so they truck them to the gulf coast to pollinate the invasive tallow tree, thus enhancing its spread by seeds. They also oppose all efforts to poison or destroy tallow trees. Since bees are a leftist project like soybeans, we aren’t supposed to talk about the strong arm of factory bee-keeping and the damage it does to the bees themselves or the environment.

    Edt after reading Greg’s post to add: I have seen promotion of “Melaleuca honey”…. and I bet the commercial bee industry is contributing there too.

  8. Chad says:

    Apparently, what used to be called a “sex change operation” is now referred to as a “gender confirmation surgery.” Political correctness marches on.

  9. Greg Norton says:

    Apparently, what used to be called a “sex change operation” is now referred to as a “gender confirmation surgery.” Political correctness marches on.

    That’s old news, pre-Anno Jenner-mini.

    The new one that will probably pop in the next few years is something my wife has been getting from ethics lectures at conferences going back to at least 2012 — Halloween/cosplay costumes involving crossdressing are offensive to the Trans community and males in particular should not be photographed dressed in such a manner because it will be akin to Blackface in the near future.

    The message from the lectures is that any pictures from poor sartorial choices which end up online could be damaging to a professional reputation, and since pictures are increasingly impossible to control given camera phones and the Internet, costumes for public events should be chosen carefully.

  10. Mark W says:

    At least you can monitor your local Plod for situational awareness. Here in UK, such things (even air band!) are illegal to listen to, on pain of heavy fines and equipment confiscation.

    That never stopped anyone of course. In Belfast in the 80s it was fascinating to listen to the police channels. A lot of it was coded speech that could be understood after listening for a few months.

  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    You really don’t want on off switches on critical gear. Video gear is critical gear if you’re the one producing the video.

    To make matters worse, heat kills gear, and video gear tends to run HOT. I used to routinely measure 140F or higher inside equipment racks of video gear. We had one client that turned off their A/C and baked a whole 3 racks, and $200K in projectors. We notified them that the gear would no longer be covered by our warranty.

    Troubleshooting is a skill that not everyone can do. There are also different approaches (start tracing at source or destination???). The main issue though is you need a thorough understanding of how everything is supposed to work. Even I sometimes forget about gear in the signal path and OF COURSE that is the piece that dies. Hiding gear under a floor or above a ceiling is the worst sin. If you have to, document the location on the drawings.

    n

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    “costumes for public events should be chosen carefully.”

    — saw a meme this week, “Join twitter. In 10 years lose your job.”

    m

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    “That never stopped anyone of course. ”

    –you can also do traffic analysis on it. Where, when, who, how long, etc. That’s why I leave the encrypted channels active on my scanner. If SWAT is all of a sudden very busy, that’s a data point….

    n

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    Puerto Rico and Florida get their turn in the barrel— track has it pointed at and traveling up the length of Florida.

    From FEMA:

    Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine – Response
    Situation:
    The system is forecast to move near or over the Virgin Islands and Puerto
    Rico tonight, near or over Hispaniola tomorrow, and near or over the
    southeastern Bahamas Friday
    Potential Impacts:
    • Rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with maximum amounts of 10
    inches forecast across USVI and Puerto Rico.
    • Life threatening flash flooding, mudslides, rip currents, and potential
    riverine flooding possible
    • DRC #4 in the Municipality of Ponce and DRC #17 in the Municipality of
    Guanica will be temporarily closed today
    • Power been restored in PR; power plant was brought back online
    • Port closures: USVI & PR for inbound traffic

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    There is a possible explanation for the mystery seed mailings, some sort of reviews scam called “Brushing”. I never heard of it, but it explains what I’ve seen online.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8569561/Mystery-plant-seeds-sent-China-U-S-homes-solved.html

    n

  16. Geoff Powell says:

    @MarkW:

    That never stopped anyone of course.

    True dat. And you will note that, in that post or just below, I confessed to doing exactly that, 25 years ago.

    In fact, I was listening when the Southall Riot happened. Google “Blair Peach” for context.

    And I still carry a UBC3500XLT. No point in trying to plod-monitor these days – encrypted TETRA, boo, hiss!

    G.

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    I guess gloves are getting short ….

    Why gloves may not protect you from Covid-19: Scientist warns they achieve ‘nothing in the way of safety’ and give people a false sense of security

    –why would that be the case?? Well, maybe it’s this-

    Widespread use of gloves by the public could drain the supply for doctors

    –and then we see all the same reasons trotted out we saw when masks were in short supply–

    -you’re too stupid to do it correctly
    -“Dr Bartlett added that because gloves are single use there is also an environmental aspect to consider. ”

    or this peach–

    Professor McLaws told Daily Mail Australia that hands, wrists and fingernails should still be washed for 20 seconds before wearing gloves and after taking them off, so it’s ‘best not to rely on them for protection at all’.

    FFS, do they really think we’re that dumb?

    n

  18. Nick Flandrey says:

    There are other things to monitor that still convey a lot of info during emergencies

    –utilities
    –schools and busses
    –public transport
    –the channels the news stations use to talk to the traffic choppers

    Currently a lot of encrypted traffic on the Harris County Sheriff’s High Risk Operations channel. Just by the length of the transmissions, they are a lot more chatty when encrypted than plain speech.

    n

  19. CowboySlim says:

    Apparently, what used to be called a “sex change operation” is now referred to as a “gender confirmation surgery.” Political correctness marches on.

    Yes, and to be current pcwise, I comply. For example, female dogs are “spayed” while males are “neutered”. Not mine, a had my latest puppy “degendered”.

  20. Harold says:

    Re: traffic analysis
    When I worked at Nexor in the UK, I was working on their X400 message system they were developing for the MOD. I addressed traffic analysis by creating an a random message generator to create ghost traffic between endpoints masking sudden increase in traffic between specific nodes. MOD loved it. Don’t know if they ever used it..

  21. Greg Norton says:

    Puerto Rico and Florida get their turn in the barrel— track has it pointed at and traveling up the length of Florida.

    The Navy’s forecast track is more concerning right now, but I know that will change. Water pushed into Tampa Bay at high tide will be bad news for a lot of newish (and expensive) development.

    https://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/TC.html

  22. Ray Thompson says:

    To make matters worse, heat kills gear, and video gear tends to run HOT.

    The studio equipment is in a separate room with it’s own A/C unit. I keep the temperature at 70f all the time. There used to be a lot more heat producing equipment but the new stuff runs fairly cool with the exception of the switcher. That unit has a massive heat sink with three inch fins. The new unit does not have the space for the fins so has internal cooling using fans. Yeh fans, something else to to go wrong. Passive cooling never breaks, fans break.

  23. Greg Norton says:

    “costumes for public events should be chosen carefully.”

    — saw a meme this week, “Join twitter. In 10 years lose your job.”

    I don’t believe it to be impossible that everyone’s Gmail will eventually end up available online. That day will cut short a lot of careers.

    I’ll freely admit that Twitter rantings from the idiot husband of my wife’s former associate in WA State factored into our decision to leave. Everyone is entitled to vote the way they want, but supporting his sorry butt, no matter how indirect, was part of the reason we couldn’t afford a house in Vantucky.

  24. Greg Norton says:

    The studio equipment is in a separate room with it’s own A/C unit. I keep the temperature at 70f all the time. There used to be a lot more heat producing equipment but the new stuff runs fairly cool with the exception of the switcher. That unit has a massive heat sink with three inch fins. The new unit does not have the space for the fins so has internal cooling using fans. Yeh fans, something else to to go wrong. Passive cooling never breaks, fans break.

    How humid is the environment? I assume that TN is fairly dry depending on where you live.

    We’ve had two AC units break in four component rooms in the year or so we’ve been in production in Virginia. Fortunately, our gear makes the state a *lot* of money.

  25. Chad says:

    RE: Gloves

    The problem with gloves is that you’re just replacing hands that touch everything with gloves that touch everything. I suppose there’s some added benefit that you’re more likely to realize you’re touching your face while wearing gloves than when you’re not. Outside of that, the gloves get just as dirty as hands do. Even worse is that people get a false sense of security when wearing gloves where they think that just because they have gloves on everything is sanitary. So, they’ll take cash from a customer wearing gloves. Make food wearing those same gloves. Scratch their head with those same gloves. Sweep the floor with those same gloves. It doesn’t occur to them to change gloves (i.e. the glove equivalent of hand washing). They are good for giving the APPEARANCE of cleanliness, but rarely the actuality of it. Still, it fools most people so many retail business during the pandemic are requiring their employees wear them for the sake of appearances.

  26. SteveF says:

    They would not be able to figure out how to play the video [showing how Ray does various video tasks].

    Yah, I know that song. I’m pretty good about making documentation and on one particular job I did a wiki which described everything needed to compile and deploy an application, configuration, common problems, everything I could think of. And I walked through the wiki with a number of other developers. And the people who were supposed to take over for me while I was on vacation claimed I hadn’t told anyone how to do anything and there was no documentation and that’s why they didn’t do anything for a week.

    All of the other developers on my project were on H1B visa. State of New York looooves them some Indian developers because their vendors put them in at a dollar or two lower. Never mind that half of them are completely useless and 80% of the rest are almost useless.

    FFS, do they really think we’re that dumb?

    A lot of people support Biden for President and another big chunk still support Bernie. The thought that America is filled with finger-chewing retards has some evidence to support it.

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  27. Greg Norton says:

    I guess gloves are getting short ….

    “Why gloves may not protect you from Covid-19: Scientist warns they achieve ‘nothing in the way of safety’ and give people a false sense of security”

    A single layer of standard latex gloves may not work and most people have nary a clue about removing the gloves properly to avoid contamination.

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    “most people have nary a clue about removing the gloves properly to avoid contamination. ”

    –the correct response to that and the issues Chad raises is EDUCATION. There are youtube videos.

    It’s not hard to take off gloves properly, or to change them. I do it all day long when I’m out and about. Surfaces are nasty in normal times. And I can’t wash my hands in my truck…

    In fact, very little of this is HARD, but it often requires attention, some training, and fastidiousness. It reminds me of the parasite worm in John Ringo’s Maple syrup wars series. It’s a weed out for those who can’t or won’t follow simple guidelines.

    n

    added- I use far more gloves than masks, even with my “clean hand/dirty hand” usage and awareness (one glove on dirty hand.)

  29. Greg Norton says:

    Some people have expressed interest in corporate-free phone experiences here, and I thought I would provide an update on the Moto G4 Play I run with LineageOS and apps I either download directly from the developer (Firefox) or from F-Droid.

    LineageOS resumed doing nightly builds for the G4 Play in March, providing a community-supported version of Android (Version 10) for the phone. However I discovered that the big downside of using the new firmware vs. the previously-supported version of Android Nougat (Version 7.1.2) is that Google broke the NTP Sync app downloaded from F-Droid I like to use for time accuracy, making the GPS fix less accurate and slow as molasses. The end result is that I went back to the Nougat firmware I build once a month on my main desktop’s Linux distribution.

    Still, if you want to try smart phone life without Apple or Google — well as little as possible since it is still Android — the G4 Play with LineageOS is a (mostly) pain free install experience, and the hardware is readily available on EBay.

  30. Nick Flandrey says:

    A single layer of standard latex gloves handwashing may not work and most people have nary a clue about removing the gloves handwashing properly to avoid contamination. ”

    FIFY, and I’ll note that no one is training people to wash their booger hooks either.

    n

  31. Nick Flandrey says:

    Strange that out of nowhere Tempe AZ has a problem with BLM, then this today

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/arizona-train-derailment-ignites-massive-fire-bridge-partially-collapsed

    n

  32. Greg Norton says:

    “most people have nary a clue about removing the gloves properly to avoid contamination. ”

    –the correct response to that and the issues Chad raises is EDUCATION. There are youtube videos.

    It is all kabuki anyway. People are too impatient. Keeping the bars closed through Labor Day will do more for daily counts than any mask or glove mandates.

    Gotta wonder if Publix is still giving the cops a free pass to hang out in their parking lots running “mask traps” in Florida. Usually what Publix or Disney want done is priority one in the state.

  33. Pecancorner says:

    I wear gloves to protect myself, not anyone else. I started out wearing nitril gloves but then lucked onto some food service gloves at a dollar a box. I wear one pair through the store, take one off my clean hands before touching my face or purse or car door handle, remove inside out and dispose of. Then I use sanitizer in the car just in case.

    And even with those on, I carry cut up tissue paper to use for opening the entry door, holding the pen if the ccard machine wants a signature, or as an extra barrier at gas pumps. I carry my own pen for writing checks.

    In a shortage of gloves, plastic shopping bags or even a box of plastic storage bags (the kind that use twist ties) would work fine for keeping a 15 minute barrier between my hands and whatever germs someone else left in their wake.

  34. DadCooks says:

    The high temperatures were finally too much for an under-designed electrical substation in a new area of our town (suck-it CA and NY transplants). Our city used to be known for forward-planning infrastructure but that ceased about 20-years ago. The shortsightedness is now rearing its ugly head. So those of us who live in the “old” part of town are enjoying our electricity, water, and uncongested roads.

    The area school districts are getting close to making decisions regarding reopening schools. Richland decided yesterday that opening the schools is a no-go for the fall session at least. Kennewick will decide tonight and Pasco hasn’t a clue.

    People are getting complacent which is extremely dangerous. WuHuFlu has changed life on planet earth forever and the culprits need to be identified and drawn and quartered (we know who it is). I also propose the same for stupid and ignorant protesters. There, leaned down the population for you.

  35. CowboySlim says:

    “A single layer of standard latex gloves handwashing may not work and most people have nary a clue about removing the gloves handwashing properly to avoid contamination. ”

    With my front teeth, I bite the end of the index finger portion and then pull back with my forearm.

  36. SteveF says:

    I just put on ten pairs of gloves at a time and never take them off, just let them wear away naturally.

  37. Ray Thompson says:

    How humid is the environment? I assume that TN is fairly dry depending on where you live.

    Humidity outside is really high in TN. Dew points above 72f many days. Oppressive is the weather liars term. The room with the equipment is about 50% humidity. Get too low and static becomes an issue. Worst problem I have had from static in the winter is that touching the control surface makes it go wonky and I have to power cycle. The only connection between the control surface and the rest of the equipment is via ethernet via a switch. All the equipment, except for some legacy devices, is controlled over a very private (no outside connection) network.

  38. Greg Norton says:

    The high temperatures were finally too much for an under-designed electrical substation in a new area of our town (suck-it CA and NY transplants). Our city used to be known for forward-planning infrastructure but that ceased about 20-years ago. The shortsightedness is now rearing its ugly head. So those of us who live in the “old” part of town are enjoying our electricity, water, and uncongested roads.

    I wouldn’t think TriCities would be big with NY or CA transplants.

    Our relationship with our landlords soured our last year in Vancouver, WA when we wouldn’t trade houses for six months with tenants in another one of their houses nearby. The husband of the other household had rented the place sight unseen from CA, and the wife flipped-frickin-out when they got to WA and saw what they had leased compared to our rental.

    The other house was newer but 1000 sq ft smaller. Plus we had what would be a full size garage in just about any other state save WA/OR, where a “two car garage” means “one plus junk”. Really, though, I don’t think the wife was nearly as unhappy about the house as living in Vancouver in general. I think they ultimately broke their lease and probably moved back to CA after that.

  39. lynn says:

    Freefall: Winston’s Parents
    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff3500/fc03467.htm

    So Winston’s parents live on a space station. And Winston’s mother is performing a detailed analysis of Florence’s body and innards. Bold.

    And does Winston’s mother have a mustache ?

  40. lynn says:

    I have a similar situation for a traditional observance, once a year. I provide sound reinforcement for a maypole dancing celebration in May. Not this year (first gap in 60 years) due to coronavirus.

    I’ve been doing it for about 25 years, but no-one else appears to be willing to step up – not even Jenny, my youngest daughter, who takes after me in some things (she’s B.Sc (Hons) Physics, Lancaster (failed))

    My recent bout of cancer has pointed out that I need to write a “Bus Book”, aka “What to do if Geoff falls under a bus”, for this.

    Dude, sorry to hear about the cancer. Hopefully you are beating it.

  41. DadCooks says:

    “I wouldn’t think TriCities would be big with NY or CA transplants.”

    Oh, we are. New home prices are about half what they are in the Seattle/Tacoma area and in the Spokane area. Contrary to some long-held beliefs the Tri-Cities has a growing economy and real jobs, not just the gooberment ones we relied on from WWII Hanford Project to the late 1990s with the great purge of old white men (yes, I’ll be bitter about that forever). However, the current employment levels out on the Hanford Reservation are now twice what they were before the purge and the work produced is a fraction of what it was (25-years behind schedule on “clean-up”). Unfortunately, we have one of the highest concentrations of PhDs and Graduate Degrees (no thanks to Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, PNNL). Book smart and common sense stupid, majoring in decision constipation.

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  42. lynn says:

    I don’t know what the demographics look like now, but when I was there I don’t think there were 10 blacks in the whole city. But they’ve got riots now. FFS.

    Portland is also very thin on African American demographic. Within the last 100 years, Oregon was a “whites only” state by law, the residency prohibition being lifted in 1926.

    Rush said this morning that the rioters XXXXXX protestors in Portland are a bunch of drug addicted pasty white guys who hate everything. They are being funded by the radical elements in the USA (Soros ?).

  43. Nick Flandrey says:

    Rush said this morning that the rioters XXXXXX protestors in Portland are a bunch of drug addicted pasty white guys who hate everything

    –they’ll still maim you just the same as if they were hardened chechnian mercenaries.

    n

  44. lynn says:

    For Paul in Texas, “Emus banned from outback Queensland pub after bad behaviour”
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-28/emus-banned-from-outback-queensland-pub/12496000

    Who would have thought that drinking in a pub with Emus would be a bad thing ?

  45. lynn says:

    Rush said this morning that the rioters XXXXXX protestors in Portland are a bunch of drug addicted pasty white guys who hate everything

    –they’ll still maim you just the same as if they were hardened chechnian mercenaries.

    And then complain if you defend yourself from them.

  46. Geoff Powell says:

    @lynn:

    Dude, sorry to hear about the cancer. Hopefully you are beating it.

    Thus far, all seems well. I finished the chemotherapy follow-up to surgery just over a year ago. Regular checkups are ongoing – CT scan next month.

    G.

  47. lynn says:

    I have been thinking about driving up to South Dakota and checking out Mt. Rushmore before the crazies blow it up. So I just checked out the Concealed Handgun Reciprocity with other states between Texas and SD and got this nice map:
    https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/tx-gun-laws/

    Looks like clear sailing !

  48. lynn says:

    “A.F. Branco Cartoon – The Anti-Deplorables”
    https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-the-anti-deplorables/

    “Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Anarchy, and the Democrats are teaming up to destroy America with the help of the Marxist-Mainstream propaganda media. Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2020.”

  49. Greg Norton says:

    “Rush said this morning that the rioters XXXXXX protestors in Portland are a bunch of drug addicted pasty white guys who hate everything”

    –they’ll still maim you just the same as if they were hardened chechnian mercenaries.

    WA/OR west of the Cascades has a long hunting tradition so skills with guns and knives are not uncommon, even among Progs. ‘C’ students in “Sosh” from PSU and trust fund baby Reed burnouts are probably in the rioter mix in Portland, but the core are dedicated troublemakers with some skills.

    The big problem that the Feds face in Portland as opposed to Seattle or Austin is that the FBI’s fortified HQ facility is out near Portland Airport instead of being located downtown near the Hatfield Courthouse. The logistical chain is tough, and the location they’re defending is the same cheapskate design the Feds have been using since the Clintons — Tampa has an identical building.

  50. brad says:

    I don’t believe it to be impossible that everyone’s Gmail will eventually end up available online

    It’s always the question of who you can trust. Moved my mail off of Gmail a while ago. It’s a big target, plus Google openly admits that they scan your mail. A smaller provider may be less secure, but also a lesser target…
    Gotta follow the advice to move to LineageOS, but haven’t had the time…

  51. Greg Norton says:

    I have been thinking about driving up to South Dakota and checking out Mt. Rushmore before the crazies blow it up. So I just checked out the Concealed Handgun Reciprocity with other states between Texas and SD and got this nice map:

    Definitely go if it is on your list, but keep in mind that Mount Rushmore required 14 years to blast/chisel out of that mountain, with sculptors hanging from ropes dropped from the mountaintop above. Short of a nuclear weapon, I doubt the crazies could manage any single explosion close enough to the faces to do any real damage. The visitor center would be a more likely target.

  52. lynn says:

    “Exclusive: Russia claims it’s on track to approve Covid-19 vaccine by mid-August. But speed of process raises questions”
    https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/europe/russia-coronavirus-vaccine-approval-intl/index.html

    I will pass. The cure is probably worse than the disease in this case.

  53. Chad says:

    Exclusive: Russia claims it’s on track to approve Covid-19 vaccine by mid-August.

    They hacked into Big Pharma and stole everything. They don’t have to do trials because the companies they stole it from had already done several Phase 1 and 2 trials. Now they’ll bypass all the red tape (not that Russia probably has many safeguards on its drug industry) and press it into production. Then Putin will pat himself on the back for saving the Russian people (with the cybercrime and wreckless manufacturing left out of the narrative).

  54. Greg Norton says:

    I will pass. The cure is probably worse than the disease in this case.

    I’d trust Putin more than Bill Gates at this point.

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  55. lynn says:

    “CDC Coronavirus Test Kits Generate 30% False Positive and 20% False Negative Results – Connecticut Pathologist’s Newly Published Findings Confirm”
    https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200717005397/en/CDC-Coronavirus-Test-Kits-Generate-30-False

    If true, this sucks.

    Hat tip to:
    http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2020/07/your-hopeium-broker-called-sell-short.html

    AND “4) The advantages right now in living out of the mainstream and wway from big cities is obvious. Ol’ Remus Woodpile Report Life Lesson #1: STAY AWAY FROM CROWDS.”

  56. lynn says:

    I will pass. The cure is probably worse than the disease in this case.

    I’d trust Putin more than Bill Gates at this point.

    How about don’t trust either one ?

  57. SteveF says:

    How about don’t trust either one ?

    Not to worry. You may place your faith in Fauxi.

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  58. lynn says:

    How about don’t trust either one ?

    Not to worry. You may place your faith in Fauxi.

    I have faith that Fauci will lie his teeth off to us in order to meet his personal priorities.

  59. lynn says:

    “The Dragon Lady comes to earth”
    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-dragon-lady-comes-to-earth.html

    Neat ! I had no idea that the U-2 needed a chase car at 140 mph to land safely. I know that the space shuttle used chase planes on its final approach.

  60. lynn says:

    “Are progressive-led big cities digging their own graves?”
    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/07/are-progressive-led-big-cities-digging.html

    “Daniel Turner sums up why and how the liberal elite has destroyed city life for him. He’s gone, and he isn’t looking back.
    https://humanevents.com/2020/07/23/goodbye-washington-dc/

    Get out early. If you wait for Biden to be the prez, …

  61. SteveF says:

    The U-2 has wheels on sticks which go under the wings, used for taxiing and taking off. They fall off as soon as the plane lifts up. I was surprised when I saw it happen at Moffett Field. The takeoff was one of the loudest things I’d ever heard, and the plane was hundreds of meters away and I’ve been under artillery fire.

  62. lynn says:

    “Preparing for pre-election turmoil”
    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/07/preparing-for-pre-election-turmoil.html

    “I’d therefore like to suggest that you take a serious look at your current preparedness to endure a local shutdown, from whatever cause, for a period of at least a month, if not three months. Could you hunker down at home and shelter in place for that long? Do you have sufficient food, water and other emergency preparations to endure – not in luxury, but the bare essentials? If not, I fear it’s now become necessary to devote some serious time, attention and resources to rectifying that situation. You can’t afford to waste any more time, because time may run out.”

    One month, no big deal. Three months, whew ! I need a lot more propane.

  63. Greg Norton says:

    “I will pass. The cure is probably worse than the disease in this case.”

    ‘I’d trust Putin more than Bill Gates at this point.’

    How about don’t trust either one ?

    Putin always does what’s best for Russia. Curing America’s Wuxu Flu problem would be *very* good propoganda for Russia.

    Gates has Daddy issues, Mommy issues, and kinky vaccination fetish fantasies. God only knows what his deals with Epstein involved. We may yet find out … if the Maxwell woman survives to trial.

  64. paul says:

    Random chatter ……

    It’s nice to have a good ‘net connection. I’m paying for 25/5. It bursts to almost 50 down for a few seconds (like, 4) and almost 16 up. I asked if that was correct and he said it’s on purpose, it makes pages load faster so the connection feels fast and anyway much of a page loads in a few seconds so you’ll wait for huge pictures to load, but you can start reading.
    The things you learn when you are polite and not an a-hole.

    Which beats the heck out of previous wISP companies… you’re on the 5/1 plan and you’ll be happy to get 3/.75 early in the morning. Yeah, they way way oversold their connection. But calling to gripe, well, somehow it was always turned into “my fault”. So re-wire your network to connect a PC directly to the radio’s output and then we can talk. And re-boot everything. Every freaking time.
    I’m not claiming to be a genius, when I did the MSCE course, Networking Essentials was a tough class. Maybe the toughest. But MY side of the connection has been checked and re-booted and all that nonsense before I call.

    ISP sent an e-mail a few weeks ago saying the rates are going up. From $65 to $87. Which is still less than Rise wanted for the same speed plan a few months ago. They use Slack, it works. I asked if the $87 was the total or plus tax. Someone I don’t recognize said “plus tax and you are on a special plan anyway”. Rude, much? I replied the when I signed up it was $65 total so yeah, thanks for the $27.11 rate increase to $92.11/month which just knocked upgrading my plan out of my budget.
    (The first $25 is tax exempt.) No response.

    Anyway. I just finished with paying a couple of bills on Frost’s website and everything was just “click” and it happens, no waiting, no time-outs. Nice.

    Cats! I seems to have eight kittens from four mothers. Not sure, Kitten Eight just appeared today, that Mom had three last year. Three kittens are hanging around the back door with their mom. Penny just wants to be a momma. The beer can sized kittens are not too sure about a 50 pound dog licking them. Two moms hang out around the feed shed. I’ve seen four kittens, but…. One mom likes it under the EDC, I just saw her kitten today. She may have more in hiding.

    Cat food is cheap. They are entertaining.

    Watching Penny and the kittens get along is fun. Watching the kitten’s eyes changing color is interesting. So far, from all being smoky gray to sky blue, sorta green, and sorta yellowish brown. All in the last few days.

    Easily amused? Me?

  65. lynn says:

    “Coronavirus Update XXIV: Why Did We Panic?”
    https://wmbriggs.com/post/31960/

    “Here are the official weekly CDC coronadoom deaths—which are about 10% lower than propaganda reported figures.”
    https://i2.wp.com/wmbriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/us_weeklycdccoviddead-7.png?w=1200&ssl=1

    “How do we know if this is a genuine second wave or a testing artifact? The best evidence comes from looking at all cause deaths. Here’s the weekly count from the CDC.”
    https://i2.wp.com/wmbriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/us_weeklyalldead.part_-3.png?w=1200&ssl=1

    “It even appears, though this may be the result of under-counting, there are fewer deaths this time of year than we usually see (don’t forget population increase). If that signal is real, then the most likely explanation is that the bug helped killed people earlier who would have died just a little while later than they did. For example, a stage 4 lung cancer guy sucking for breath got the COVID and succumbed. He would have died a couple of weeks from now, but instead died now. Does that count as a coronadoom death? Or lung cancer?”

    He has death rate graphs from 2017 to 2020 ! ! ! ! ! ! !

  66. paul says:

    I don’t believe it to be impossible that everyone’s Gmail will eventually end up available online.

    That is exactly why I don’t use GMail. Is deleted mail actually really deleted?

  67. SteveF says:

    then the most likely explanation is that the bug helped killed people earlier who would have died just a little while later than they did.

    That was being said all the way back in May, maybe even April. It was refuted, if “refuted” is the word, by statistics tortured until it proved it wasn’t so, by sob stories about “perfectly healthy” young people who died, and by “if it would keep your mother alive three more weeks wouldn’t you want everyone to stay home?”.

  68. Greg Norton says:

    That is exactly why I don’t use GMail. Is deleted mail actually really deleted?

    Deleted GMail, no.

    Deleted IMAP/POP3 from another host? Most likely after a year, depending on the provider.

    The expectation for privacy of email in court is nil unless you’re encrypting messages, however.

  69. lynn says:

    The expectation for privacy of email in court is nil unless you’re encrypting messages, however.

    Even if you encrypt email, you and/or your business can be forced to provide the unencrypted versions of the emails. I just had to supply over a 1,000 emails to family court for a former employee divorce. I fought it and got it down from 20,000 emails. That cost my business over $4,000 in legal fees.

    Unless you like sitting in a jail cell in contempt of court ?

  70. paul says:

    “Emus banned from outback Queensland pub after bad behaviour”

    Emu are not the smartest critter around. But some are very focused, so to say.

    Compared to a parakeet I inherited and the cockatiels I’ve had, and chickens, emu are solidly in the middle. Almost as smart as a smart cat. Which, compared to a dog, well….

    But for a critter that’s been kicking around for oh, 40 million years, the feathered dinosaurs seem to have it all figured out. Cool critters….

  71. paul says:

    Deleted IMAP/POP3 from another host? Most likely after a year, depending on the provider.

    Well, that’s a good question to ask of DreamHost.

  72. SteveF says:

    Even if you encrypt email, you and/or your business can be forced to provide the unencrypted versions of the emails.

    Ditto for any work logs or personal diaries you may keep. That’s why a number of my journals are not written in English. Subpoena? Sure, here you go. Oh, you can’t read it? Not my problem and I’m not required to translate for you. Find a translator of your own, if you can even figure out what language I wrote in.

  73. Greg Norton says:

    Even if you encrypt email, you and/or your business can be forced to provide the unencrypted versions of the emails. I just had to supply over a 1,000 emails to family court for a former employee divorce. I fought it and got it down from 20,000 emails. That cost my business over $4,000 in legal fees.

    Texas divorce isn’t “no fault” yet. Of course, I’ll admit I’d want that finger of blame pointing in the other direction if I were in the position of being the defendant, regardless of whether the judge uses the jury’s suggestion about property division.

    (Only Georgia still allows a jury to assign blame and divide property. Hence, the new “Good Eats” show and Alton Brown’s current Quarantine Qitchen series on YouTube until production resumes. Alton’s alimony must be brutal.)

    I just intercepted a call at the house today from a recruiter looking to put my wife back in Oregon. I told him, “Absent a divorce filing, I’m the gatekeeper for that kind of decision, and the Northwest isn’t happening as far as I’m concerned.”

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  74. Greg Norton says:

    In many areas, we are behind our competitors,” Zuckerberg said. “The most popular messaging service in the U.S. is iMessage. The fastest growing app is TikTok. The most popular app for video is YouTube. The fastest growing ads platform is Amazon. The largest ads platform is Google. And for every dollar spent on advertising in the U.S., less than ten cents is spent with us.

    Still a scary amount of money when you consider how many newspapers and radio/TV broadcasts used to be supported with the US ad market. When the monetary cost is zero, the product is you.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-29/zuckerberg-goes-off-script-blasts-apple-and-google-in-testimony

    The world will be a better place when Zuckerberg is retired and “Lean In” is back teaching aerobics at the Harvard Co-op — the only job for which she was ever really qualified.

  75. Pecancorner says:

    I’d trust Putin more than Bill Gates at this point.

    Heh! the best meme I have seen all year reads “Bill Gates couldn’t even keep viruses out of Windows. Dude needs to sit down and shut up. “

    That is exactly why I don’t use GMail. Is deleted mail actually really deleted?

    Long long ago and far far away, when Google was still pretending not to be evil, someone in a position to know told me that Google had never deleted anything. Not only all webpages they indexed, but also that every search from every computer was still archived on their machines.

  76. lynn says:

    I just intercepted a call at the house today from a recruiter looking to put my wife back in Oregon. I told him, “Absent a divorce filing, I’m the gatekeeper for that kind of decision, and the Northwest isn’t happening as far as I’m concerned.”

    I would assume that your wife will never leave the VA with her previous experiences.

    Of course, if the new employer was willing to pay her a million dollar signing bonus BEFORE the move, would you reconsider ?

  77. DadCooks says:

    Anyone who believes any email, or anything else they type onto the www, is ever destroyed is kidding themselves. Once the bits hit the www they live forever.

    Al Gore designed it that way, he gets bored easily.

  78. Nick Flandrey says:

    Amazon’s third party managed to mess up my ginger ale order AGAIN. The first was “damaged in shipment” and returned to sender, even though I never saw it and would have likely accepted the shipment.

    This time, they show it as delivered – handed to resident directly, but amazon’s billing doesn’t think it was delivered and won’t let me initiate any redress. The tracking button shows it delivered to someone in Pennsylvania. I guess they had it handed to them…

    And once again, it is out of stock and so I’ll get a refund. I think someone is scamming somehow.

    n

  79. Nick Flandrey says:

    btw, bar soap is showing 2-3 weeks until delivery, hobby putty (milliput) showing a week to 10 days, and super glue is 4 days. ALL showed “in stock” and prime shipping.

    n

  80. lynn says:

    btw, bar soap is showing 2-3 weeks until delivery, hobby putty (milliput) showing a week to 10 days, and super glue is 4 days. ALL showed “in stock” and prime shipping.

    HEB is selling Ivory bar soap at $4 for ten bars and $5 off if you buy $15 worth (instore coupon).
    https://www.heb.com/product-detail/ivory-clean-original-personal-bar-soap/2083253

  81. lynn says:

    Anyone who believes any email, or anything else they type onto the www, is ever destroyed is kidding themselves. Once the bits hit the www they live forever.

    Al Gore designed it that way, he gets bored easily.

    My business partner, who passed away in March, told me never to write anything in an email that I would not mind seeing on the front page of the Houston Chronicle the next day. I miss him a lot.

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  82. Greg Norton says:

    “I’d trust Putin more than Bill Gates at this point.”

    Heh! the best meme I have seen all year reads “Bill Gates couldn’t even keep viruses out of Windows. Dude needs to sit down and shut up. “

    Bill and Melinda Gates literally were “The People Who Brought You ‘Microsoft Bob'”

    Melinda Gates was the product manager on “Bob”, a pre-Windows 95 attempt to make Windows user friendly. Do a Google search.

  83. Greg Norton says:

    btw, bar soap is showing 2-3 weeks until delivery, hobby putty (milliput) showing a week to 10 days, and super glue is 4 days. ALL showed “in stock” and prime shipping.

    I buy Costco’s bar soap since they had a falling out with Lever over stocking Lever 2000. I just picked up a package from a mostly-untouched palette last week. I am *very* allergy sensitive about fragrances so if it doesn’t kill me normal people should be fine.

  84. Greg Norton says:

    Of course, if the new employer was willing to pay her a million dollar signing bonus BEFORE the move, would you reconsider ?

    I have my price, but it is so high I’m confident it isn’t happening. No, it isn’t a million dollars.

    The VA is the first time in 19 years I haven’t subsidized the practice of medicine. Even when I was unemployed/underemployed, I wrote checks. I certainly wouldn’t go back to Portland to subsidize the jerk running kindredcocktails.com.

    Unless they have family money or do concierge work on the side, your private practice GP is in serious trouble.

  85. SteveF says:

    from a mostly-untouched palette

    Someone was painting with soap? Writing on glass, I suppose.

  86. Greg Norton says:

    Please, God, let this be wishful thinking on the part of the Prog reporter.

    https://theweek.com/speedreads/928117/michelle-obamas-podcast-sounds-suspiciously-like-stump-speech

  87. MrAtoz says:

    I am *very* allergy sensitive about fragrances so if it doesn’t kill me normal people should be fine.

    Have you ever tried Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap? I bought a big bottle a couple of months ago and really like it. Seems like all natural ingredients is right up your palette. I believe they make bars, also.

  88. Greg Norton says:

    “from a mostly-untouched palette”

    Someone was painting with soap? Writing on glass, I suppose.

    Pallet. Whatever makes the red squiggly line go away.

  89. MrAtoz says:

    Please, God, let this be wishful thinking on the part of the Prog reporter.

    Mooch is never giving up the good life. Unless she thinks she can be Dictator For Life.

  90. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ah, I should have specified, Dr Bronners Bar Soap, in peppermint. Anything else and I get pimples. I use it as shampoo too.

    Ivory stinks to my nose and leaves a film, and the bars are mostly air, so they run out quickly.

    Costco’s Dove bars are so bad my wife won’t use them.

    I could usually buy my soap a bar at a time in the healthy boutique at HEB, but I’d rather get 8 at a time from amazon. It’s the lying that gets me the most, as other sellers had it too for only a couple of cents more.

    n

  91. Greg Norton says:

    Have you ever tried Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap? I bought a big bottle a couple of months ago and really like it

    No, I’m fine for now. The Costco doesn’t trigger my allergies. I also use the big Kirkland shampoo bottle at home.

  92. Nick Flandrey says:

    School just voted to start everyone virtually on time, and transition those who want in person to it on Sept 8, pending any changes from our little commie judge who runs our emergency response (as a result of straight party voting- which we don’t allow anymore.) She’s got ZERO qualifications or experience with emgmt, and confiscated masks that were sold at auction to FEMA for her own use. Sent the sheriffs and everything. Said she’d pay “market rate” not the auction price, and had to walk back her implications that the seller was price gouging– since by definition you can’t have price gouging in an auction where BUYERS determine the price.

    What a mess.

    n

  93. Nick Flandrey says:

    @MrAtoz, that’s what I use. I was using the peppermint liquid to wash my face for a long time, decades now, and it’s the only thing I’ve tried that keeps my skin clear. Yes, even at 54 years old… greezy bastidge…

    I got the bars, and like them too. I’ve stopped using the liquid. I use the bars on my short hair, and get good results. Simplifies my stocking too…

    n

  94. SteveF says:

    Whatever makes the red squiggly line go away.

    Ha! That doesn’t work for me because I use a lot of words that aren’t in the browser’s built-in dictionary, even when I’m writing in English. When I see a red squiggly I’ll double-check and then often bring up a real online dictionary.

  95. Marcelo says:

    Mooch is never giving up the good life. Unless she thinks she can be Dictator For Life.

    It may get to that, let us see:
    – China: check
    – USSR, I mean, Russia: check
    – Venezuela: check
    – USA: maybe next.

    🙂

  96. Greg Norton says:

    Said she’d pay “market rate” not the auction price, and had to walk back her implications that the seller was price gouging– since by definition you can’t have price gouging in an auction where BUYERS determine the price.

    The price gouging laws need to go away in FL, TX, and wherever else they passed after the 2004 hurricane season.

    In FL, the two gas stations near the Orlando airport make a mockery of the laws, obeying them to the letter but still getting away with fleecing the tourists.

  97. Greg Norton says:

    Mooch is never giving up the good life. Unless she thinks she can be Dictator For Life.

    The Progs are talking about abolishing the fillibuster if they win back the Senate as well as the Presidency. Even The Chosen One didn’t have that much freedom to rule, despite a fillibuster proof majority for eight months in 2009.

    Still, I don’t see Cuomo accepting a ticket that could win on the Dem side this year. Daddy’s lesson in 1994 was brutal, and Cuomo the Younger wants to succeed where Cuomo the Elder failed. Biden isn’t the official nominee yet, and 2022 will be a bloodbath for Dems if they go bonkers, risking Cuomo’s bid a fourth term as NY’s Governor.

    Cuomo could face being out of Presidential contention for 12 years even if he did pull off winning a fourth term.

  98. MrAtoz says:

    Fauxcy is on the front of the DM saying “wear googles, too”. Why not go full MOPP4 and get it over with. Geez.

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  99. Geoff Powell says:

    @lynn,@stevef:

    Think yourselves lucky you’re not in the UK. AFAICT, all you risk is losing money. Here, after the 2000 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, any jumped up bureaucrat can demand, on pain of (I think) 5 years at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, that you decrypt (or in SteveFs case, translate) anything that said bureaucrat wants to read. And woe betide you if you can’t. Ignorance of the keys is no excuse.

    Also applies to mobile phones – if PC Plod wants to look at your phone, he can demand it.

    And the list of entitled bureaucrats is long. Even unto a clerk at your local council offices, who suspects that you’re bending the rules about school catchment areas.

    G.

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