Posts from — January 2017

Noting that it couldn’t possibly compete with the circus in Washington, after a run of nearly a century and a half Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is folding its tents. [Declining ticket sales is just cover to avoid trolls] /snark

Both Tech Dirt and The Reg have a hard time figuring out what qualifies Rudy Giuliani to lead any kind or type of CyperSecurity operation. This is the guy who ignored the advice of his emergency management officials and moved New York City’s emergency operations center to 7 World Trade Center, which was demolished, in no small with the assistance of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel stored for the emergency generators when the Towers fell.

The web presence of Giuliani’s consulting business is about as unsecured as it can be, and will probably be hacked by script kiddies for giggles and grins. This is the guy who administration bought radios for first responders that didn’t work in high rise buildings, so I have to question the existence of any qualifications for the job.

Yes, it’s Friday the 13^th again. The 13^th falls on a Friday more than any other day of the week, so get over it. It’s only valid in in English and Portuguese speaking countries, so go visit a Spanish-speaking neighborhood for the day.

If you want to blame someone, it’s the calendar of Pope Gregory XIII that created this imbalance. [He obviously didn’t have a problem with the number on any day.]

Donald Trump blasts ‘fools’ who oppose good Russian ties, which is exactly the strange attitude on Trump’s part that caused people to look into his relationship with Russia. That research resulted in Trump ‘compromising’ claims: How and why did we get here?.

Now we have Ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele in hiding after Trump dossier, because Putin has few friends, but no enemies, for long.

The reality is that these revelations really reduce the effectiveness of any blackmail threats. By this time everyone should be aware he’s a sexual predator and pervert, you know – ‘a star’.

Then there is the announcement that the Inspector General of the Department of Justice is to probe FBI Clinton email actions.

Update: Trump reacted by repeating his tired cheer to his minions the ‘she is guilty as hell’, but no one is able to tell the sane people on the planet exactly what she is guilty of. Other than being named Clinton and being a Democrat, she used the same e-mail procedures as the previous two Republican Secretaries of State. [Thinking of Trump supporters as chubby little yellow creatures in coveralls speaking gibberish helps, trust me on this.]

Finally we have a welcome change: US visa-free residency for Cubans ends. Now Cubans are going to be forced to endure the same process as everyone else.

It has been cold, so I thought I’d bake something. I didn’t want to order from the ‘Net and no one seems to carry sultanas locally, so I decided against oatmeal cookies. Most people don’t bother to soak their raisins or sultanas in wine for a few hours before using them, so they tend to be hard.

I went with my second choice – chocolate chip based on the original Toll House recipe.

The recipe gives a laughable timeline: 39 minutes to cookies,

Reality involved finding a really good flashlight to scan the cupboards for a 3 quart bowl & two 1 quart bowls, the electric mixer, the beaters for the electric mixer, the cookie sheets, the cooling racks, the parchment paper, the spatula, the scoop, and the measuring cups & spoons.

The timeline also neglected taking everything out of the oven and finding a place for it. Then there was the time spent locating the step stool to be used to remove the battery from the smoke detector in the living room about 5 minutes into cooking the first batch. The process starts hours earlier when you take the two sticks of butter out of fridge to soften so you can cream in the sugar and vanilla.

After all of this I looked at the cost and devised a new system – put out the cooling racks and go to the store to buy three bags of Pepperidge Farm Chesapeake cookies. Open the bags and put the cookies on the racks and dump the bags in someone else’s wheelie bin.

The cookies I made are thicker and softer than the Chesapeakes, but the cost are close to the same for the ingredients. The chocolate chips and pecans are almost $7!

Update: From 2008 Kryten’s Grandmother’s Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti recipe.

С Рождеством Христовым to my Orthodox friends who are still waiting to see how the calendar reform works out.

Today marks the Feast of the Epiphany, end of the twelve days of Christmas, and Día de los Reyes in Spanish-speaking countries.

This is the customary day for gift exchanges in many Christian cultures because it is the day that the Magi finally arrived in Bethlehem with their totally inappropriate gifts after putzing around for a week and a half because they didn’t want to ask for directions.

[Give me a break! They bring soft metal, smelly tree sap, and bitter medicine associated with embalming to people who could use a hot meal, baby clothes, and diapers.]

Mexico will reimburse U.S. for border wall, Trump says.

Congress just needs to give Drumpf a blank check to build his wall and somehow he will extort enough money from Mexico to pay for it. People who front Trump money to build things often find themselves on the ‘creditors list’ in bankruptcy court.

“We don’t need no stinking ethics!” – Republican Congressional caucus.

GOP wanted to change the Office of Congressional Ethics:

The OCE should no longer be independent. Instead, it will be under the House’s Committee on Ethics, which is run by members of Congress.

The office will no longer be able to accept anonymous tips from whistleblowers.

The ethics office must stop any investigation if the House ethics committee tells them to.

The ethics office cannot investigate any tips of misconduct that took place before Jan. 3, 2011

The office can no longer talk about its findings — even hire a spokesperson.

OCE cannot investigate any criminal cases or turn allegations of corruption over to law enforcement.

The Congresscritters felt they were being treated unfairly by the OCE, telling people what the ‘Critters were doing. Members were facing primary challenges and losing elections, even if they weren’t convicted of crimes.

When people found out what the GOP caucus was attempting, there was sufficient outrage from the public to convince ‘Critters that they didn’t want to vote for the changes.

As per his pattern, Trump the Twit tweeted. He felt Congresscritters should be enacting the changes he wants before dealing with anything they might personally want. Note, he didn’t say the changes were a bad idea, only that his agenda should be the first priority.

I resolve not to bite into any jelly donuts that I microwave for a minimum of five minutes. [Damn, that hurt!!!]

С Новым годом
Prosit Neujahr
Feliz Año Nuevo
Bonne Année
Felice Anno Nuovo
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Gott Nytt År
Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

May you be safe from the idiots who think gravity is just a theory and fire off guns, failing to understand that what goes up will come down.

Given the prevalence of accurate timekeeping devices, it is amazing that the explosions that are supposed to signal the new year extend for hours beginning four hours before and extending well after the actual event. Anyone who thinks alcohol and gunpowder is a recipe for a long life should be avoided by insurance agents.

The new year brings new opportunities, so here’s hoping that the good wins out and the world is made a little better. It hasn’t happened yet, but there’s always a chance.

Oh, and a happy 16^th blogiversary™ to Steve Bates at the Yellow Doggerel Something.