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podcast friday
May. 23rd, 2025 07:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyYou all deserve a break from *gestures vaguely at the rest of the internet* so have a completely wholesome podcast for once. "LARP Camp" on Normal Gossip is about two awkward gay counsellors, a neurodivergent evil genius of a child, and a ghost or two.
It's been a challenging transition from Kelsey McKinney to new host Rachelle Hampton, but Rachelle has finally hit her stride with this episode (and the one after it)—it's very funny and her storytelling here does the thing where you're like, "and then what happened?" It helps that the subject matter is up my alley. Anyway, it is incredibly cute so take a break from doomscrolling and give it a listen.
It's been a challenging transition from Kelsey McKinney to new host Rachelle Hampton, but Rachelle has finally hit her stride with this episode (and the one after it)—it's very funny and her storytelling here does the thing where you're like, "and then what happened?" It helps that the subject matter is up my alley. Anyway, it is incredibly cute so take a break from doomscrolling and give it a listen.
Waterfox - a new privacy-oriented search engine option
May. 23rd, 2025 12:00 amdarkoshiIntroducing Waterfox Private Search (Beta)
The search engine can be accessed here:
https://search.waterfox.net/
The search engine can be accessed here:
https://search.waterfox.net/
new pet peeve
May. 21st, 2025 10:22 pmarchersangelpeople who call any black & white cat a "tuxedo" cat.
according to wikipedia;
there are other bicolor patterns & the article has a couple of charts to understand the difference between them.
like most pet peeves it is a bit nitpick-y, but that's just the way some are.
according to wikipedia;
To be considered a true tuxedo cat, the feline's coloring should consist of a colored coat, with white fur limited to the paws, belly, chest, throat, and often the chin - sometimes the tail. Tuxedo cats can appear to have goatees due to the black coloration of their mandible, lower jaw, and chin. White muzzles or a white coloring on their faces are a common attribute of tuxedo cats.[6] Most tuxedo cats are also "black-mask cats" with a complete white blaze, a common name for felines who, due to their facial coloration, look as if they are wearing a black mask over their eyes, and often over their entire head. The ideal color distribution is symmetric, and the white areas are of modest size and limited to the desirable areas.
there are other bicolor patterns & the article has a couple of charts to understand the difference between them.
like most pet peeves it is a bit nitpick-y, but that's just the way some are.
L&O season 2: Episode 10
May. 21st, 2025 07:24 pmsabotabbyThe finale was...good, actually? Again, grading on a curve. It is still a bad show. But it's one of those bad shows where you get the sense that there is someone in the writers' room doing their best and sneaking all kinds of fun content in (see also: Archie singing IWW songs in Riverdale).
I had to check Reddit to see which case this was based on—it takes most of the episode to get to it. A seemingly unremarkable middle-aged travel agent drops dead in his driveway while his wife is out for a jog. It looks like a heart attack, but a cop in 44 Division suggests to Holness that she might want to get "her best" on it. Unfortunately the best that Toronto Police Services—sorry, TPD on the show for some reason—have are Graff and Bateman.
( spoilers )
And that's a wrap. I guess I'll have to find some good show to watch now.
I had to check Reddit to see which case this was based on—it takes most of the episode to get to it. A seemingly unremarkable middle-aged travel agent drops dead in his driveway while his wife is out for a jog. It looks like a heart attack, but a cop in 44 Division suggests to Holness that she might want to get "her best" on it. Unfortunately the best that Toronto Police Services—sorry, TPD on the show for some reason—have are Graff and Bateman.
( spoilers )
And that's a wrap. I guess I'll have to find some good show to watch now.
See inside the USAF's newest 747 jet, courtesy of Qatar
May. 21st, 2025 02:10 pmthewayneYep, we now have a new jet. The decision came from Upon High to accept the "donation", and it is now parked in San Antonio while the Air Force and Boeing decides what to do with it.
Would you like to know what a tricked-out 747-8 looks like after it took four years to plan and refurbish? Look no more, just click on the link below!
https://www.businessinsider.com/qatar-boeing-747-plane-trump-air-force-one-photos-interior-2025-5
Apparently Secretary of Defense Otis Hegseth (shout-out to the Andy Griffith Show) gave the order to accept the offer. It isn't in the below Newsweek article, but SecDef Otis said that the donated plane's remediation should be done in a way that should not "unduly impact" the delivery of the two new AF1's on order from Boeing and due to be delivered around 2029.
ROFLMAO!
One of the things delaying that delivery date is the difficulty in getting workers screened for their security clearances. And now there's a THIRD 747 that's going to require a massive refit before it can be put into service for use as an Air Force One that is going to further strain that clearance chain. Not to mention they still have to maintain the TWO EXISTING AIR FORCE ONE 747s!
Yeah, it won't unduly impact the delivery of the ordered planes in the slightest. And to quote Wayne's World, monkeys might fly out of my butt.
https://www.newsweek.com/hegseth-update-qatar-jet-trump-air-force-one-2074837
And remember, they're making government smaller and more efficient and saving money!
Would you like to know what a tricked-out 747-8 looks like after it took four years to plan and refurbish? Look no more, just click on the link below!
https://www.businessinsider.com/qatar-boeing-747-plane-trump-air-force-one-photos-interior-2025-5
Apparently Secretary of Defense Otis Hegseth (shout-out to the Andy Griffith Show) gave the order to accept the offer. It isn't in the below Newsweek article, but SecDef Otis said that the donated plane's remediation should be done in a way that should not "unduly impact" the delivery of the two new AF1's on order from Boeing and due to be delivered around 2029.
ROFLMAO!
One of the things delaying that delivery date is the difficulty in getting workers screened for their security clearances. And now there's a THIRD 747 that's going to require a massive refit before it can be put into service for use as an Air Force One that is going to further strain that clearance chain. Not to mention they still have to maintain the TWO EXISTING AIR FORCE ONE 747s!
Yeah, it won't unduly impact the delivery of the ordered planes in the slightest. And to quote Wayne's World, monkeys might fly out of my butt.
https://www.newsweek.com/hegseth-update-qatar-jet-trump-air-force-one-2074837
And remember, they're making government smaller and more efficient and saving money!
My brain is in a strange place today
May. 21st, 2025 01:50 pmthewayneNot feeling good, and my brain is having a field day.
I'm reading my ebook sales newsletters and came across the following description: "...A police officer, a sharpshooter, and a Marine band together to survive in this high-octane series starter..."
So you've got the cop and the sharpshooter driving down the road in a beat-up Trans Am, followed by a bus of Marine musicians performing Sousa....
:-)
This is honestly how my brain initially interpreted that blurb. I really need to re-re-re-watch Police Squad and the Naked Gun movies.
I'm reading my ebook sales newsletters and came across the following description: "...A police officer, a sharpshooter, and a Marine band together to survive in this high-octane series starter..."
So you've got the cop and the sharpshooter driving down the road in a beat-up Trans Am, followed by a bus of Marine musicians performing Sousa....
:-)
This is honestly how my brain initially interpreted that blurb. I really need to re-re-re-watch Police Squad and the Naked Gun movies.
Reading Wednesday
May. 21st, 2025 07:20 amsabotabby Just finished: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I don't know what to make of this, and will definitely be checking out the Wizards vs. Lesbians episode on it (not that I always agree with them, but they do raise perspectives that are interesting). I would say overall the prose and characters carried it. I got to know these people, I fell in love with them in the same way that the narrator did. It was compelling, as the kids say.
But I don't think the ended quite landed and I'm struggling to think of why. In part (and this is confirmed a little in an interview that follows the book), it's hurt a bit by the first-person narration. Bradley is telling a much bigger story than the narrator sees, and while that thankfully rescues it from being a didactic Message Book, it might have swung too far towards the other direction where I'm not exactly sure what it was trying to say. It's one of those books that straddles the literary and genre, and I tend to prefer genre in a literary style than literary fiction exploring genre.
That said, it was so relentlessly well-written that I feel like my ill-defined issues with it are kind of irrelevant because I highly enjoyed it.
Currently reading: Bad Cree by Jessica Johns. I'm almost done this one. It's almost the reverse—protagonists figuring out genre solutions to literary fiction problems. I was given a warning about this book and I'm yet to figure out why.
What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher. I didn't read the first novella in this series (What Moves the Dead) despite it having my favourite cover the year it came out. So it's taking some getting used to. On the plus side, the opening is suffused with so much gothic horror that I find myself turning into a young woman fleeing in a white gown across the moors, holding a candlestick.
But I don't think the ended quite landed and I'm struggling to think of why. In part (and this is confirmed a little in an interview that follows the book), it's hurt a bit by the first-person narration. Bradley is telling a much bigger story than the narrator sees, and while that thankfully rescues it from being a didactic Message Book, it might have swung too far towards the other direction where I'm not exactly sure what it was trying to say. It's one of those books that straddles the literary and genre, and I tend to prefer genre in a literary style than literary fiction exploring genre.
That said, it was so relentlessly well-written that I feel like my ill-defined issues with it are kind of irrelevant because I highly enjoyed it.
Currently reading: Bad Cree by Jessica Johns. I'm almost done this one. It's almost the reverse—protagonists figuring out genre solutions to literary fiction problems. I was given a warning about this book and I'm yet to figure out why.
What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher. I didn't read the first novella in this series (What Moves the Dead) despite it having my favourite cover the year it came out. So it's taking some getting used to. On the plus side, the opening is suffused with so much gothic horror that I find myself turning into a young woman fleeing in a white gown across the moors, holding a candlestick.
"Ask Copilot" in Windows Explorer context menu
May. 20th, 2025 11:48 pmdarkoshiOn both my work and personal laptops (Windows 10 and 11), I have noticed that the file context menu in Windows Explorer now includes an "Ask Copilot" option.
I have privacy and security concerns about that. If I accidentally select this option, will the file or its contents potentially be uploaded to the web somewhere? Will Microsoft use the contents of the file for other purposes? I didn't find clear answers on that. If I wanted Copilot to analyze a file, I would prefer to select the file thru other means. I don't need extra items in my context menu; mine is already lengthy due to other custom entries (which I actually use on a frequent basis) that I've added to it. So I will edit my registry to remove the entry from the menu.
Windows 11: Microsoft is adding Ask Copilot to right-click menu, how to remove it
Windows 11’s Copilot in Context Menus: Benefits, Concerns, and How to Remove It
I have privacy and security concerns about that. If I accidentally select this option, will the file or its contents potentially be uploaded to the web somewhere? Will Microsoft use the contents of the file for other purposes? I didn't find clear answers on that. If I wanted Copilot to analyze a file, I would prefer to select the file thru other means. I don't need extra items in my context menu; mine is already lengthy due to other custom entries (which I actually use on a frequent basis) that I've added to it. So I will edit my registry to remove the entry from the menu.
Windows 11: Microsoft is adding Ask Copilot to right-click menu, how to remove it
Windows 11’s Copilot in Context Menus: Benefits, Concerns, and How to Remove It
J6 rioter, pardoned by His Orangeness, arrested again for home burglary
May. 20th, 2025 06:00 pmthewayneMy heart is always lighter and my smile brighter when something like this happens.
Pardoned by El Presidente four months ago, he was arrested after being confronted by the home owner while breaking into someone's house. He fled, but was caught by police a short distance away, and is now being held pending charges, bail hearing, court appearances, all that good stuff.
He was one of the most violent J6 rioters and had an extensive criminal record prior to that event, including "...past arrests for residential burglary, grand larceny, assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism". He was sentenced to eight years prison to be followed by 36 months supervised release. He was convicted of eight felonies and three misdemeanors.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/capitol-rioter-zachary-alam-arrested-burglary_n_682c7b6ae4b0dc52ee2c8505
Pardoned by El Presidente four months ago, he was arrested after being confronted by the home owner while breaking into someone's house. He fled, but was caught by police a short distance away, and is now being held pending charges, bail hearing, court appearances, all that good stuff.
He was one of the most violent J6 rioters and had an extensive criminal record prior to that event, including "...past arrests for residential burglary, grand larceny, assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism". He was sentenced to eight years prison to be followed by 36 months supervised release. He was convicted of eight felonies and three misdemeanors.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/capitol-rioter-zachary-alam-arrested-burglary_n_682c7b6ae4b0dc52ee2c8505
Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times summer reading list? 10 of 15 books DO NOT EXIST
May. 20th, 2025 03:55 pmthewayne*sigh*
Care to guess how it happened? The suggestions included "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir". The independent who put the list together used an AI and didn't check what it generated.
The Sun-Times went through some massive lay-offs recently as its finances are in not very good shape, and lost 20% of its readership. I'm sure this little reading list snafu will encourage people to reup their subscriptions. Or not.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/chicago-sun-times-prints-summer-reading-list-full-of-fake-books/
Care to guess how it happened? The suggestions included "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir". The independent who put the list together used an AI and didn't check what it generated.
The Sun-Times went through some massive lay-offs recently as its finances are in not very good shape, and lost 20% of its readership. I'm sure this little reading list snafu will encourage people to reup their subscriptions. Or not.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/chicago-sun-times-prints-summer-reading-list-full-of-fake-books/
Microsoft starts blocking improperly configured bulk mailers
May. 19th, 2025 05:54 pmthewayneIf a mailer is trying to send more than 5,000 emails a day to Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, or Live.com email addresses, and the server is not configured to standards, Microsoft is going to block the emails from going through their networks with an error message. Yahoo and Gmail have been doing this for some time.
Specifically, "... (the) SPF record must clearly identify which IPs can send on your domain’s behalf. DKIM must sign the message with a valid key. And DMARC needs to be published, with alignment to either SPF or DKIM. Preferably both. Without all three in place, Microsoft will silence you."
This will make it harder for fly-by-night spammers to get messages through as they often do not have top-shelf IT people supporting them. It will also cause problems for legitimate mass mailers who use third-party email providers who also do not have top-shelf IT people who may be a little soft on their mail server configuration.
But this is the price paid because scammers are determined to make sure that we cannot have nice things.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderforoffice365blog/strengthening-email-ecosystem-outlook%e2%80%99s-new-requirements-for-high%e2%80%90volume-senders/4399730
https://betanews.com/2025/05/05/microsoft-email-blocks-start-may-2025/
https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/05/05/1817247/microsoft-cracks-down-on-bulk-email-with-strict-new-outlook-rules
Specifically, "... (the) SPF record must clearly identify which IPs can send on your domain’s behalf. DKIM must sign the message with a valid key. And DMARC needs to be published, with alignment to either SPF or DKIM. Preferably both. Without all three in place, Microsoft will silence you."
This will make it harder for fly-by-night spammers to get messages through as they often do not have top-shelf IT people supporting them. It will also cause problems for legitimate mass mailers who use third-party email providers who also do not have top-shelf IT people who may be a little soft on their mail server configuration.
But this is the price paid because scammers are determined to make sure that we cannot have nice things.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderforoffice365blog/strengthening-email-ecosystem-outlook%e2%80%99s-new-requirements-for-high%e2%80%90volume-senders/4399730
https://betanews.com/2025/05/05/microsoft-email-blocks-start-may-2025/
https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/05/05/1817247/microsoft-cracks-down-on-bulk-email-with-strict-new-outlook-rules
JUSTICE! POPE SNUBS VEEP J.D. AT HIS INNAUGURAL MASS!!!
May. 18th, 2025 10:40 pmthewayneOh, my! WHAT A BURN!
Junkyard Dog Vance, or is it Juvenile Delinquent Vance? got all of SEVENTEEN SECONDS in the procession line after the mass. A basic "Hey, how ya doin'? I'm praying for your soul, J.D., it needs it." and a hand shake, then the pope was off to the next person.
Who did the pope spend a lot of time with? He had "extended" private audiences with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra!
PERU!
J.D. got snubbed for PERU!
I do so love it when the fickled finger of fate stops and says 'Nah, not your day, bud!' and makes Peru the anointed one to get a nice long gab session with the pope.
I would like to visit Peru some day: Russet did grad work there and they have some great telescopes there in the Andes. Sadly, once we move away from high altitude, it's unlikely that Russet will be able to return to it for any significant amount of time.
Leo, in his previous incarnation as a bishop, had some very choice tweets about the operation of Our Beloved Leader in his first term in office, and in what they were doing thus far in this term, I expect the slight was intentional.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-xiv-snubs-jd-vance-as-he-meets-with-world-leaders/
Junkyard Dog Vance, or is it Juvenile Delinquent Vance? got all of SEVENTEEN SECONDS in the procession line after the mass. A basic "Hey, how ya doin'? I'm praying for your soul, J.D., it needs it." and a hand shake, then the pope was off to the next person.
Who did the pope spend a lot of time with? He had "extended" private audiences with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra!
PERU!
J.D. got snubbed for PERU!
I do so love it when the fickled finger of fate stops and says 'Nah, not your day, bud!' and makes Peru the anointed one to get a nice long gab session with the pope.
I would like to visit Peru some day: Russet did grad work there and they have some great telescopes there in the Andes. Sadly, once we move away from high altitude, it's unlikely that Russet will be able to return to it for any significant amount of time.
Leo, in his previous incarnation as a bishop, had some very choice tweets about the operation of Our Beloved Leader in his first term in office, and in what they were doing thus far in this term, I expect the slight was intentional.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-xiv-snubs-jd-vance-as-he-meets-with-world-leaders/