BitWrench

Doing The Math Not only is Amazon's search/sorting function full of bad juju, it offers me pricing options like this. I know, I know, it's a Feature (for Amazon), not a Bug (for me).

The New Frontier (That's a Dave Winer joke, folks...) Originally shared by Alex Scrivener Five years ago, when Wolf took over The Old Reader, he offered a prescient insight: "How long will it be before your Facebook stream is so full of promoted content, bizarre algorithmic decisions, and tracking cookie based shopping cart reminders that you won't be getting any valuable information," Wolf wrote. "For as little as $60, a business can promote a page to Facebook users. It won't be long before your news feed is worthless." Which, well, here we are. https://www.wired.com/story/rss-readers-feedly-inoreader-old-reader/

Peep Show License https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/spacex-launches-a-rocket-but-noaa-prevented-some-of-it-from-being-shown/ http://qcode.us/codes/santarosa/view.php?topic=6-6_72-6_72_040&frames=on https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/CRSRA/generalFAQ.html https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/spacex-launches-a-rocket-but-noaa-prevented-some-of-it-from-being-shown/

Nailed It Originally shared by **** Enaje said he believed his strong Catholic faith helped him avoid pain. “I feel like he is telling me ‘go ahead, keep it up’,” he said, referring to God. Enaje said he felt strong enough to perform in two or three more crucifixions, until he turns 60. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-easter-philippines-crucifixi/no-more-pain-for-philippine-devotee-nailed-to-cross-for-32nd-time-idUSKBN1H610Q

Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb When he comes, when he comes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi5q3Gq6UhI

Feet Wet “But why are they Vietnamese?” “Because they are still immigrants! Because they came to Cambodia in 1980, they are still immigrants.” “But if they were originally from Cambodia, why are they immigrants?” “Because during the civil war, they went to Vietnam, and after the war they came back.” Nationalism is always in search of an enemy. Originally shared by Damn interesting https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/28/magazine/cambodia-persecuted-minority-water-refuge.html

Operator? Information, Please We were talking about the prevalence of Trains showing up in Gospel and Blues songs... What's funny is that those songs will probably still make sense to future generations, because trains are still around, and likely to be so. This one will require some explanation... I was listening to a version recorded by the Friendly Brothers, and got to wondering who wrote the song. The Friendly Brothers credited their own Bill Spivery, but I think it was probably Sister Wynona Carr, a talented young woman who didn't quite make it to the Big Time. As the man said, "you gotta have the looks and the talent; you gotta do all the right stuff - then you still have to get lucky." http://blog.musicscribe.com/2016/03/the-originals-operator/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9aKZZJvB0E

Hymns Speak From The Organ William Everett Preston, AKA Billy Preston, AKA the Fifth Beatle. I was into digital music before it was cool, trying to make Moogs do tricks. It was fun. But a Hammond B3, hooked up to a Leslie? If I was to have a church? That would be my church. Woo. https://www.npr.org/2016/01/03/461818544/how-the-hammond-organ-sound-laid-the-tracks-for-gospels-hit-train A Leslie is one of those things I had to take apart, after I heard what it did to the sound. A marvel of analog electronics and physics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_speaker Both the Hammond and the Leslie (along with another favorite, the Hohner Clavinet) are going extinct, both from the inevitable ravages of time and use, and the increasing excellence of digital models. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C5phND-JLI

Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition "And We'll All Stay Free..." We're listening to some gospel music this morning, and I couldn't help but pass this one along. The lyrics are more on target that I realized... "Praise The Lord And Swing Into Position... Can't Afford To Sit Around A-wishin'... (or Can't Afford To Be A Politician) Praise The Lord, We're All Between Perdition And The Deep Blue Sea!" https://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/Praise.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQWnofloODM

It's Not My Cross To Bear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-PUvkMc-eM

Where There's Smoke... https://www.wral.com/mebane-based-kidde-recalls-thousands-of-smoke-alarms-unable-to-detect-smoke-/17446809/

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

Off The Rack NCOSE used to be called Morality in Media, but that's obviously too broad a topic, these days. Worth noting that both the American Library Association and Amazon are on their Dirty Dozen list. I wonder if anyone will get around to checking "Judeo-Christian standards of decency" against the President's behavior. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/28/597541958/walmart-to-remove-cosmopolitan-from-checkout-aisle

Contrarian https://www.racked.com/2018/3/23/17143908/j-peterman-catalog-art

Real Long Lines For Real ID... Also, the Commerce Dept. is planning to add a citizenship question to the census in 2020: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/27/politics/blue-states-lose-citizenship-question-census/index.html http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/03/26/boston-drivers-faced-massive-wait-times-rmv-monday/pV1e3P47luMT181P2RgO1I/story.html

Buy Now, Pay Later Originally shared by Moss Drake "Federal revenue is declining because of President Trump's tax cuts, so the government needs to borrow more to make ends meet. " http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/investing/us-debt-sale-record-treasury/index.html

Unfriend Us Originally shared by Susan Jahn https://theintercept.com/2018/03/26/facebook-data-ice-immigration/

"We Know Who You Are" I did a Google Image Search for the provenance of this photo. The Algorithm said: Best guess for this image: Nguyen Van Lem Nguyen Van Lem was a Viet Cong soldier executed in 1968 by Nguyen Ngoc Loan. The execution was captured on film by AP photographer Eddie Adams. Nguyen Ngoc Loan escaped to the US after the fall of Saigon. Immigration authorities were reluctant to admit him, but relented after testimony from Eddie Adams, among others. He eventually opened a pizza joint near DC, but was forced to retire, due to adverse publicity. He died in 1998, age 67. The tagline quoted was written on the wall of a bathroom in the pizza joint, shortly before closing. It appears that even the Algorithm is spending some time these days pondering notions of fame, identity, and guns. Originally shared by O' Pavlo

Outsourcing The fact checking, not the monetization, mind you... https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/3/14/17120918/youtube-wikipedia-conspiracy-theory-partnerships-sxsw

Evil Data Originally shared by David McKeever

Simple Pleasures Are The Best... Bobby McFerrin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2q0enNEkCc

Carry On Luggage Anybody want to hazard a guess at how much money it would cost to mount an operation like this? Not insignificant. I think there is some value in registering certain kinds of weapons, and requiring liability insurance. If you're worried about being not being able to fight the gummint? Join the National Guard and organize your coup from there, just like they do in real Banana Republics. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000005794914/las-vegas-gunman-planned-massacre.html

Homework Originally shared by Anne-Marie Clark The look on this kid's face https://twitter.com/TrialLawyerRich/status/977627613618458626

Showing Up Originally shared by lynn paden “One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here, so it’s important to me,” McCartney told CNN at the march. http://time.com/5213991/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-march-for-our-lives/

Going Whole Hog Like a lot of things, there are problems when you scale up. Iowa and NC have similar problems, but neither are addressing them adequately. It's the old joke about "what's that smell?" It's the smell of Money. It's likely to get worse, as the owners of production live continents away... There have been attempts to come up with better, safer practices, but with no penalties or incentives, there is little progress. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article150016642.html http://www.ehn.org/water-pollution-hog-farming-2504466831.html https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/20/north-carolina-hog-industry-pig-farms https://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/hogwashed-part-1-hundreds-of-poor-mostly-african-american-residents-of-eastern-north-carolina-say-big-pork-is-making-their-lives-miserable/Content?oid=6825525 https://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/hogwashed-part-2-environmental-advocates-say-hog-facilities-antiquated-waste-disposal-systems-are-th...

Lexington #1 Lexington Barbecue and Southern Soul Barbeque got the same number of votes this year. https://www.southernliving.com/souths-best/bbq-restaurants-verdict I'm going to go with the old guy, over the upstart (ten years old). I bet y'all are surprised, right? Plus, they're in my neighborhood. https://www.ourstate.com/lexington-barbecue/ https://roadfood.com/restaurants/lexington-barbecue-1/ John T. Edge says the place looks "like an oversize dairy barn with a six chimney nuclear reactor tacked onto the backside." Used to be called Honey Monk's, a combination of Wayne Monk's name with his partner's, Sonny Honeycutt. His partner didn't last, but the name stuck almost twenty years, until about 1980, when it became Lexington #1. If you're here on the first of the month, try the Berry Berry Berry Cobbler (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry). Slap your momma good. “Once you get to know our product you can order ground, coarse chopped or fine...

Not Just A Pretty Face Also, a Hot Mess. Doing Bad Things That Turn Out Badly. Who Knew? A Story Of Our Time. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596257288/former-playboy-model-spills-alleged-affair-details-trump-tried-to-pay-her

Hot Dawg! Originally shared by Randy Culler David "Dawg" Grisman is 73 years old today commentary from Frank Beacham A bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music, Grisman started the Acoustic Disc record label in the early 1990s to help spread acoustic and instrumental music. Growing up in a Conservative Jewish household in Hackensack, New Jersey, Grisman started his musical career in 1963 as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band. His nickname "Dawg" was affectionately assigned by his close friend, Jerry Garcia, in 1973 (the two met in 1964 at a Bill Monroe show at Sunset Park in West Grove, Pennsylvania). "Dawg Music" is what he calls his mixture of bluegrass and Django Reinhardt/Stéphane Grappelli-influenced jazz, as highlighted on his album, Hot Dawg (recorded Oct. 1978, released 1979). Stephane Grappelli played on a couple of tracks on Hot Dawg and then the 1981 recording Stephane Grappelli and David Grisman Live. It was Grisman's ...

#MeToo Originally shared by G.K. Nelson Hey. I live in the South, where we enjoy our crazy relatives. Hell, we sit them in rockers out on the front porch and let our neighbors enjoy them.

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

I'm Not Dead Yet But maybe I don't count as human, anymore. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/last-human-to-use-two-spaces-after-a-full-stop-dies-20180312145785

Vive La Liberté Originally shared by G.K. Nelson If only we Americans had Pierre's courage on discovering our rights as citizens and voters had been compromised by Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, the Mercers, and Steve Bannon. Pierre didn't whine about his fate on social media. He went on strike.

Light Up And be happy! From Styx's Equinox album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uFQQOiMr8M via Vicky Veritas Originally shared by EarthSky Happy equinox! The March 20, 2018, equinox is an event that happens on our sky’s dome and a seasonal marker in Earth’s orbit around the sun. Here's everything you need to know. http://bit.ly/2FWIOoR

With Lemon, Please And Mint, in the Summer. http://thedevilspanties.com/archives/12392

To Tell The Truth Provenance is a difficult topic, both for objets d'art, and refugees. Immigration authorities have a difficult job, best done rationally and compassionately. At scale, it's difficult to do with any normal metrics for success. BAMF! Originally shared by Damn interesting https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-refugee-detectives/554090/

Every Day Is St. Patrick's Day In The Crotch Getting an early start on #SacredSunday https://terminallance.com/2018/03/16/terminal-lance-shamrock-sloshed-iii/

Erin Go Bragh Which means, Ireland Forever. Which means, Ireland will be with the Drinking, and the Arguing, and the Fighting, Forever. Also, the Singing and the Poetry, but that shows up less often in the Police reports. Originally shared by Zac Alleywalker Lowing 1:55 PM — A man has passed out drunk on a float. ““Is he staying on the float?” “NO. He fell off. He in the middle of the ground.” “Got it. Male drunk off da float!” 6:32 PM — “A male drunk with a gash on his head walked into their apartment, went into the roommate’s bedroom and fell asleep. They don’t know the guy.” State and 8th. http://www.cwbchicago.com/2018/03/scorned-beef-st-pats-revelry-sparks-6.html

Can Anybody Tell Me Where The Blarney Roses Grow? Danny Doyle, from 1981, with an all star cast of characters, including Des Moore, Donal Lunny, Steve Cooney, Tommy Hayes, Andy Irvine, Gerry Madigan, Dave Spillane, and Bill Whelan.

Everybody Is Irish On St. Patrick's Day Wearing the Green in Black and White. Peck's Bad Boy in the middle. Originally shared by Pornchai Loha Our Gang, Saint Patrick’s Day, 1930s.  From left: Bobby ‘Wheezer’ Hutchins, Mary Ann Jackson, Jackie Cooper, Allen 'Farina’ Hoskins, and Norman 'Chubby’ Chaney.

NDG Non-Recyclable Disposable Goods AKA No Damn Good AKA FUBAR. NB: These all refer to equipment. Clusterfucks are an Operational Descriptor. REMFs are often involved. Embrace The Suck! via Cara Evangelista and Thom Thomas Originally shared by Chris Kim A https://work.qz.com/1225213/the-difference-between-a-snafu-a-shitshow-and-a-clusterfuck/

Pot O' Gold Chase The Rainbow! As Brian of Knocknasheega, King of all the Leprechauns says: "Oh singin's no sin, and drinkin's no crime, if you have one drink only, just one at at a time. Originally shared by Damn interesting http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/plane-loses-its-368-million-cargo-of-gold-platinum-and-diamonds-on-takeoff/

The White Hills Of Ireland Skara Brae re-united, shortly before Micheal's untimely death. Dáithí Sproule, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT-Ey2ikGso

Down By The Glenside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtJq5NLTQY8

Old Hag You Have Killed Me I never had the good fortune to hear the Bothies in person, but I was fortunate enough to see Tríona & Mícheál in other bands, remarkably often. It's sad I am that Mícheál is no longer with us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgXwIIHAmaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgXwIIHAmaw

Location Services https://www.wral.com/to-find-suspects-police-quietly-turn-to-google/17377435/

Goodness How Delicious Eating Goober Peas... Burl Ives and Johnny Cash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBOxw6vbDyo Originally shared by Karen Price I haven't had boiled peanuts in ages. They always remind me of my Memaw. https://bittersoutherner.com/hot-wet-goobers-peanuts https://bittersoutherner.com/hot-wet-goobers-peanuts

Breaker Breaker 19 #ThrowBackThursday #TBT

Shrinking Property Values http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/03/07/the-death-and-life-of-a-great-american-building/

Infinite Jest Originally shared by David McKeever

Outstanding 700 students. Only one walked out. http://www.wral.com/at-a-school-in-north-carolina-he-was-the-only-one-of-700-students-who-walked-out/17416894/

Originally shared by Timothy Street All of us who read Golden Books as a child (the guide to rocks and minerals spurred me to become a rockhound) might find this biography interesting. Or anyone interested in astronomy. or anthropology or education or the sea or has a few moments to read of an interesting life . . . . https://daily.jstor.org/dorothy-bennett/ https://daily.jstor.org/dorothy-bennett/

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

Dismaland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2NG-MgHqEk Originally shared by The Old Map Gallery There is an almost untouchable perfection and idealism to the experiences of amusement parks. And these parks can be the apex of an imagined life. The British artist Bansky sought to balance out the euphoria by inviting other artists to create work for his "Dismaland" set in an old sea side amusement park in Somerset. It's a gritty and challenging view in a usually idealized setting. Here the map and guide for the park. #oldmapgallery #banksy #dismaland #amusementparks

School Of The Americas Wouldn't it be fun if some pranksters in what is left of the EU decided on similar proceedings here in the States? Originally shared by Timothy Street The Empire Strikes Back - at times, I am amazed and aghast at the reach of U.S. maneuverings around the globe. This incident is rather baffling with the intricacies of international finance, government corruption, and Leonardo DiCaprio returning the Oscar of Marlon Brando. The yacht is mere persiflage . . . . http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2018/03/doj-arrests-260-million-superyacht-equanimity-as-bizarre-1mdb-scandal-rolls-on/ http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2018/03/doj-arrests-260-million-superyacht-equanimity-as-bizarre-1mdb-scandal-rolls-on/

There Are No Accidents With Guns http://www.stonekettle.com/2018/03/bang-bang-crazy-part-12-excuses-excuses.html Airborne All The Way. https://www.wral.com/soldier-charged-with-shooting-child-is-very-sorry-grandfather-says/17411643/

The Children's Crusade Get Clean For Gene! Originally shared by Semicentenary Project On March 12, 1968 Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy came within a few hundred votes of beating President Lyndon Johnson in New Hampshire's Democratic primary. McCarthy's surprisingly strong showing was powered by an anti-war message and a "children's crusade" of several thousand student volunteers who cut their hair and became clean for Gene to attract conservative voters.

Big As Dinner Plates And every one a Special Snowflake.

Originally shared by John Scalzi I watched the movie version of A Wrinkle in Time yesterday and was far more moved by it than I expected to be -- bluntly, I cried nearly the entire length of the film. I wrote up a review of it on Whatever and tried to explain why it affected me as much as it did. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2018/03/11/thoughts-on-a-wrinkle-in-time/ https://whatever.scalzi.com/2018/03/11/thoughts-on-a-wrinkle-in-time/

Originally shared by Al Tlön "On the anniversary of Terry Pratchett’s death, his daughter reflects on how Tove Jansson’s creations brought them together" https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/mar/12/terry-pratchett-moomins-rhianna-pratchett

The East Bay Way Hook up some Tower of Power to your Friday! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inAhdkBIxS8 Originally shared by Mart Kain January 20, 1938. "San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge under construction. View of track and roadway, lower deck, East Bay. Caltrans, photographer."

Brooklyn BBQ? Say it ain't so, Joe... http://www.greensboro.com/sports/accxtra/carolina-boys-diggin-brooklyn-barbecue-say-it-ain-t-so/article_e5c5fd01-b180-5bf5-bd12-82c6f9d782b6.html

Reeling In The Years Originally shared by Randy Culler The tragic tale of a legendary concert taper Mike Millard earned his “Mike the Mike” nickname by taping now-legendary shows by some of the biggest names in 1970s rock music. For Millard, taping concerts was his life. A perpetual recluse, Mike obsessed over his tapes and their destinies. But in 1990, it all came to a tragic end. The tale of Mike Millard is one that has been whispered in underground circles for decades, perhaps now it’s time for him to receive the recognition he never saw in his lifetime. http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/features/report/6498/the-tragic-tale-of-a-legendary-concert-taper/

Office Supplies Doors, Dining Set, and a Cone of Silence. Austerity is obviously better for the little people. https://www.apnews.com/fe6edd739fff49d3a8e56324f7cc9721

Go Where You Go, And Do What You Do Woody Durham, voice of the Tar Heels for forty years, has passed on. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/unc/article203874809.html Woody is remembered by Bob Holliday and Bill Leslie at the Big Five: http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/video/17399618/ http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/video/17399490/

Going Dutch AKA Bringing a knife to a gun fight. via Cara Evangelista Originally shared by Daniel Hinojosa Pfft. Nederlanders.

Out Of Order First Amendment Bad. Second Amendment Good. "A bunch of angry mom's wearing T-shirts and carrying guns. Bills will be passed like there's no tomorrow." Originally shared by **** Can they draw pictures of guns on the signs? https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/971438021722517504

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

Caractacus Potts Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "Trevor Baylis, who has died aged 80, is best known for being the inventor of the wind-up radio, but he also created hundreds of other devices, including many to help people with disabilities. He liked to proclaim: “I don’t do things because I want to do good; I do things because I like to show off.” Nevertheless he did a great deal of good with the wind-up radio, which he conceived in 1991 and first produced in 1994. He held in contempt what he called “spivs, crooks and vulture capitalists” and suggested there should be a royal academy of invention that would help neglected inventors get their ideas off the ground without being ripped off." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/05/trevor-baylis-obituary

The Caissons Keep Rolling Along https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Field_Artillery_March Back when FA meant something different. Also, the fight song at My Old School. Originally shared by giacomo bencistà Via: https://www.reddit.com/r/thalassophobia/comments/8266hz/building_bridge_foundations_on_a_river/

Special Snowflakes Originally shared by Alex Scrivener His concern seemed to be that snowflakes are the gateway drug to snowballs. "The rules are don't touch the snow. If you don't touch the snow you're not going to throw it." https://reason.com/blog/2018/02/28/school-forbids-students-from-touching-sn

Know Your Resistor Color Codes Originally shared by Ralf Haring https://uxdesign.cc/the-worst-volume-control-ui-in-the-world-60713dc86950

I Feel Lucky Mary Chapin Carpenter-I Feel Lucky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCMQvOEE0cg https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-role-of-luck-in-life-success-is-far-greater-than-we-realized/

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "Bigfoot Studio @inkfunnel 6/6 Marking the return of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy this week on: http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05zj9lm I'm posting some of my character art commissioned for the new Hexagonal Phase. Marvin the Paranoid Android (as played by Jim Broadbent!)" https://twitter.com/inkfunnel/status/970640067935985664

Painted Hussey Originally shared by Semicentenary Project

Blots On The Permanent Record

Pig Stop At King's BBQ, on the way home...

No Ooching Going to a US Sailing Racing Rules Seminar this morning... All the thrills of potential collisions, only with little model boats on an overhead projector. And Powerpoint. And doughnuts. But no ooching.

The Price Of Disruption https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/02/590168381/uber-lyft-drivers-earning-a-median-profit-of-3-37-per-hour-study-says

Doubledecker Drifting https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2299377/first-picture-lothian-buses-driver-swerved-car-snow-beast-from-the-east-edinburgh/

How It Went Down Things Fall Apart, Part Two. http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2018/03/how-it-went-down-the-sinking-of-the-polina-star-iii-and-oyster-marine/

Things Fall Apart As a builder, there is a distressing lack of professional competence in building such an ephemeral structure as the focal point of a world class architectural competition. Unfortunately, modern architecture is often an exercise in aesthetics, with details about durability and maintenance left as an exercise to others. via Irina T. https://magazine.atavist.com/things-fall-apart-makoko-floating-school

The Big Chill https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-snow-capitals-canals-freeze-over-as-boaters-share-stunning-images-of-icy-waterways-a3779106.html

Flame On! Flame Off! Originally shared by Damn interesting https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a18923323/cremation/

Cognitive Behavorial Therapy Tools Originally shared by Susan Jahn I can totally see myself doing this. https://twitter.com/eclipsebegin/status/969047504187621376?s=19