tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56868996787322605852024-03-06T00:46:30.364-05:00DocSalvage Info<i>... Trust in truth keeps hope alive</i>DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-61065695801027253742020-04-24T19:48:00.000-04:002020-04-24T19:48:39.230-04:00SSH public-keys and private-keys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blakesmith.me/2010/02/08/understanding-public-key-private-key-concepts.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" understanding public key private key concepts, Blake Smith, 08 Feb 2010" border="0" src="http://blakesmith.me/images/public_private_key.png" /></a></div>
Still confused about SSH public and private keys?<br />
<br />
Blake Smith's 2010 article, "<a href="http://blakesmith.me/2010/02/08/understanding-public-key-private-key-concepts.html" target="_blank">understanding public key private key concepts</a>" provides the absolute best analogy I've come across.<br />
<br />
This brief article lays it as simply and memorably as it gets.<br />
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-67451869481093683052020-04-24T19:30:00.000-04:002020-04-24T19:47:53.067-04:00SSH keys beautifully explained<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wogan.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/how-to-set-up-public-key-ssh-authentication" target="_blank"><img alt="How to set up public key ssh authentication (http://wogan.wordpress.com/)" border="0" src="http://wogan.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/lock-and-key.png" height="91" title="How to set up public key ssh authentication (http://wogan.wordpress.com/)" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://wogan.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/how-to-set-up-public-key-ssh-authentication" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="How to set up public key ssh authentication (http://wogan.wordpress.com/)" border="0" src="http://wogan.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/lock-and-key-3.png" height="200" title="How to set up public key ssh authentication (http://wogan.wordpress.com/)" width="195" /></a><br />
Understanding how SSH keys work and how to properly use them has long baffled even some of the most venerable programmers.<br />
<br />
In the physical world, a given key usually fits just one lock. We have to special order multiple locks keyed the same for entry doors and such. To share access to something, we give out multiple copies of these physical keys.<br />
<br />
It's thus tempting to imagine the shared "public key" to be analogous to a physical key and the "private key" to be the lock.<br />
<br />
Actually, it's the other way around.<br />
<br />
<i>Wogan explains in <a href="http://wogan.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/how-to-set-up-public-key-ssh-authentication" target="_blank">"How to set up public key ssh authentication" (January, 2014).</a></i><br />
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-47592596436303591742015-08-24T04:15:00.005-04:002015-08-24T04:34:55.320-04:00Itching Ears<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEar-anatomy-text-small-en.svg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="By Iain at en.wikipedia, SVG conversion by User:Surachit [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Ear-anatomy-text-small-en" height="242" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Ear-anatomy-text-small-en.svg/512px-Ear-anatomy-text-small-en.svg.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">And now for something completely different...</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A friend asked me about this recently and I responded with a lot of detail. Posting it here so I don't lose it. Hope it helps someone.</span></i><br />
<br />
<h2>
How do I treat persistently itching ear canals?</h2>
I have been fighting with the same problem for several years. Tried everything. Read a lot. Here's what works best for me...<br />
<br />
First... have found no permanent solution. Just treatments that have to be repeated every few days. <br />
<br />
Second... most common cause of itching is soap/shampoo in the ears. Use the mildest thing you can when washing hair and face and dry out ear canals well afterward. I even use blow dryer for this. Dermatologist got me on Dove Sensitive Skin bar soap years ago and I use it in place of shampoo as well. It contains more oils than any other soap. Lather once to remove grease (sweat and hairspray). Rinse. Lather again to put oils back in that make hair smooth and soft (not stuck together). Rinse.<br />
<br />
On Q-tips... Without them, this problem is pretty much only treatable by a physician (read: expensive). Since the Rich are preventing Democrats from having the money for constant medical care, we are left to our own devices. Read on...<br />
<br />
<b>On Q-Tip Safety...</b><br />
<br />
1) NEVER use Q-Tips on someone else because you cannot know when you reach the eardrum. I dated a girl years ago whose mother cleaned her ears out with hydrogen peroxide regularly. Her eardrum had been punctured for years and we paid for her to have surgery to rebuild it because her Pentecostal parents refused to. Hydrogen Peroxide is good for lots of things, but I'm not a fan of using it on semi internal mucus membranes like ear canals.<br />
<br />
2) NEVER use both ends of the Q-Tip in different ears! That just gives you 2 ears itching instead of 1 at a time. Don't know why they continue to make them double-ended other than the cotton ball makes it easier to hold onto.<br />
<br />
3) Insert Q-tip VERY SLOWLY into YOUR OWN EAR with slight pressure against roof of ear canal. Gravity makes wax collect on floor of canal.<br />
<br />
4) Listen for the individual threads sticking out from Q-Tip to start brushing your eardrum and STOP when you hear/feel them. NEVER PUT PRESSURE ON EARDRUM. It hurts and it can puncture it. If punctured, water from washing/swimming will enter middle-ear which will cause the most painful infection you've ever experienced.<br />
<br />
5) On reaching the eardrum, press down LIGHTLY and pull out, using the Q-Tip to pull the wax out of ear.<br />
<br />
<b>On Treating the Itch...</b><br />
What we just did irritates the ear canal, so actually can make itch worse. But we need fairly clean canal in order to treat it.<br />
<br />
Apply any of the following to one end of a clean Q-Tip and gently swab the ear canal:<br />
<br />
For intense itching, can use antibiotic plus pain reliever cream. It's the pain reliever that actually stops the itching and the cream soothes the irritated skin. Haven't found a non-antibiotic formulation of this though. Cream is better than ointment because it soaks in.<br />
<br />
Next most effective is Chest Rub (Vicks VapoRub or Metholatim). VapoRub and generic Chest Rub are just petroleum jelly (Vaseline) with 2.6% menthol in it. The jelly moisturizes the skin and protects it from fungus and bacteria. It's the natural menthol that treats the itching. The greater the percentage menthol the more effective -- BUT too strong burns, thus making it worse. 2.6% seems okay for ears. Can use stronger concentrations for flea bites, etc. on extremities as that skin is tougher. Most muscle "hot/cold" sprays and such as just high concentrations of menthol (12-16%). Do Not Use In Ears!<br />
<br />
For maintenance and minor itching, can just use plain petroleum jelly or any oil like Mineral Oil (very cheap) or olive oil. They used to sell little bottles of "sweet oil" for ears but it was just olive and/or mineral oil I think.DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-56194007661953996332015-06-28T22:38:00.000-04:002015-06-28T22:52:08.767-04:00Homophobia and Homosexuality<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://paintingonscars.com/?s=homophobic&submit=Search" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""No child is born homophobic" from PaintingOnScars.com" border="0" height="213" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2491/3916801687_ebb1f7a3b5_o.jpg" title=""No child is born homophobic" from PaintingOnScars.com" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PaintingOnScars.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-sexual-continuum/201204/are-homophobic-people-really-gay-and-not-accepting-it"><i>Are Homophobic People Really Gay and Not Accepting It? (Psychology Today)</i></a> reports on several well designed studies that say they are.<br />
<br />
This pretty credible source substantiates the reports on the Harvard/MIT and other studies that show a strong correlation between homophobia and suppressed homosexual feelings.<br />
<br />
As Freud found, and with it launched the discipline of psychology... it is the intense suppression of true feelings that causes harmfully abnormal stress and behavior; not the feelings themselves.<br />
<br />
The whole process of growing up and "becoming civilized" is the process of learning to suppress true feelings when they are harmful to others. This is <i><b>the</b></i> mandatory requirement in order to have any kind of functional society.<br />
<br />
However, looking deeper tells us that (like everything) there are limits.<br />
<br />
Too much suppression, too intensely, for too long creates a fragile psyche that can collapse into harmful behavior when stressed.<br />
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-90131081060484198022015-05-30T12:29:00.000-04:002015-05-30T12:29:23.693-04:00Climate Change is a Huge Business Opportunity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuIHPqY9tMp-rofL5et42e39e1EHV-e9EP5EMwDLFh0YAeg5bSVmsLBrvuyccZD-xud_NUeArWLqEFMzZE6PMn6El39ztQsSgPS7NbvCnbeWSnmjxHJoL6Bj77zQkPKfmq0NJinJ9UwQ/s1600/9493130021_867c60f157_n-320x235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuIHPqY9tMp-rofL5et42e39e1EHV-e9EP5EMwDLFh0YAeg5bSVmsLBrvuyccZD-xud_NUeArWLqEFMzZE6PMn6El39ztQsSgPS7NbvCnbeWSnmjxHJoL6Bj77zQkPKfmq0NJinJ9UwQ/s1600/9493130021_867c60f157_n-320x235.jpg" /></a><b>Climate-change is the greatest business opportunity since the American westward expansion of the 1800s.</b><br />
<br />
American unbridled imagination could lead the world in adapting to it.<br />
<br />
That is, if government stopped coddling businesses already <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/david-cay-johnston/2012/07/16/idle-corporate-cash-piles-up/" title="making more profits than they know what to do with">making more profits than they know what to do with</a> on financially safe, but dirty and wasteful, old technologies.<br />
<br />
As the seas rise and the weather worsens over the next few decades, millions of <a href="http://theconversation.com/living-with-water-four-buildings-that-will-withstand-flooding-23536" title="structures will be damaged and flooded">structures will be damaged and flooded</a>. How are we <a href="http://www.spur.org/publications/article/2009-11-01/strategies-managing-sea-level-rise" title="going to preserve and protect them?">going to preserve and protect them?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/5/6/5686770/nine-maps-that-show-how-climate-change-is-already-affecting-the-us" title="Weather is becoming more extreme.">Weather is becoming more extreme.</a> Tornadoes more frequent. Hurricanes farther north and earlier in the year. Unusually high winds. Dry thunderstorms igniting fires. Sudden snow storms out of season. How do we adapt to this new normal?<br />
<br />
We need creative thinking. <a href="http://homeenergysaver.lbl.gov/consumer/help-popup/content/%7Econsumer%7Enrr%7Ecool-roofs" title="Roofing materials must be redesigned">Roofing materials must be redesigned</a> to withstand higher winds and bigger hail. Homes and high-rises must be reinforced. <a href="http://www.durabilityanddesign.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=4899" title="Building codes require massive overhaul">Building codes require massive overhaul</a> to allow for the new approaches and new materials.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-12-31/business/fl-fpl-roofing-20101229_1_shingle-roofs-fpl-customers-contractors" title="Established industries that refuse to adapt will fail.">Established industries that refuse to adapt will fail.</a> New business models will require a deferment of short-term profits. Owners and stock-holders must be willing to invest in risky new technologies that are not as profitable today but have the best chance to prevail in the future.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2014/06/solar-shingles-system-comes-online-in-cary.html" title="Solar panel technology">Solar panel technology</a> is advancing almost as fast as computers. It will soon be <a href="http://theenergycollective.com/eliashinckley/315371/solar-industry-red-hot-will-it-get-hotter" title="cheaper to produce electricity at the point of use">cheaper to produce electricity at the point of use</a> rather than a central location. <a href="http://www.utilitydive.com/news/facing-decline-nrg-energy-forges-new-business-models/234896/" title="Utility companies that embrace that fact">Utility companies that embrace that fact</a> will prosper by providing standardized, reliable point-of-use systems. Such systems could use of the existing transmission infrastructure for load-balancing and second-sourcing.<br />
<br />
The most dramatic reduction in energy use and pollution may not even come from solar panels and electric cars, but instead <b><i>from a better Internet</i></b>.<br />
<br />
Why do we consume vast amounts of energy and pour out tons of pollution to drive across town twice a day? Why do we leave one perfectly good building empty, only to occupy another? Most jobs today are information workers who could be located anywhere. <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/2009/04/stay-home-and-work/" title="Why not at home?">Why not at home?</a><br />
<br />
That means renovations to create better home-offices. Installation of higher speed Internet and faster computers. More sound-proofing. More ergonomic chairs.<br />
<br />
It also means renovating office buildings into apartments. Maybe more two-car driveways to accommodate service vehicles parked at the technician's home while off-duty instead of in a big parking lot.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.iii.org/issue-update/climate-change-insurance-issues" title="More extreme weather means more damaged roofs and broken windows.">More extreme weather means more damaged roofs and broken windows.</a> Flat video displays that use very little power are now common and rapidly getting cheaper and more efficient. Digital cameras likewise. <a href="http://windways.org/personal_page/virtual_windows/" title="For safety, energy conservation and your choice of views, why not "virtual-windows"?">For safety, energy conservation and your choice of views, why not "virtual-windows"?</a><br />
<br />
The massive upheavals caused by climate change will create unprecedented economic opportunities... <b><i>for those ready and willing to embrace it</i></b>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24400159@N05/9493130021">Climate Indicators - Relative Sea Level Change Along U.S. Coasts</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com/">photopin</a> <a href="http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml">(license)</a></i></span>DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-61939705490809770392015-05-30T11:10:00.000-04:002015-05-30T12:29:47.897-04:00Interview with Michael Tiemann, open source pioneer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://opensource.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-full-size/public/images/life/OSDC_Crowdfunding_520x292_9597717_0612CM.png?itok=Dh2m0xKQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" Image by : opensource.com" border="0" src="http://opensource.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-full-size/public/images/life/OSDC_Crowdfunding_520x292_9597717_0612CM.png?itok=Dh2m0xKQ" height="179" title=" Image by : opensource.com" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://opensource.com/business/14/8/interview-michael-tiemann-red-hat">via Bryan Behrenshausen (Red Hat) at opensource.com on 05 Aug 2014</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"There are many who have tried to bring the zero-sum game concepts to the open source community," Tiemann says. "They want to wall off some piece of technology, at least from a positioning point of view. They want to force everybody into that particular worldview."</blockquote>
Fascinating interview. Fascinating concepts… for software development (as well as finance)…<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
“Picture a bank, he said, that pays to every one of its patrons an amount of interest based on the sum of all the money it contains.<br />
<br />
"In the conventional world, a bank pays interest based on the amount of money that’s deposited. But imagine a bank where no matter how much you deposit, the bank pays interest on the sum total of all the assets to which you make the deposit. So if a whole bunch of my friends all put money into a communal bank account, and then we all get paid the total interest on that sum total, how attractive is that?”<br />
<br /></blockquote>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-21313275983737172612015-05-30T10:37:00.001-04:002015-05-30T12:30:14.837-04:00Your Vote Does Not Count<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KORTNv136doY6pGDt8EcLXPW-j3bb3NnWQ_TJzSJdpxn7J4bWPmX5JH3i5ljE28GKr0m-NVcakZ4vZnIq43PuxYLmo2bsCsObFI9KEAEFCETTAQPjR-JWyybznde8919BfGYkBr9UyI/s1600/YourVoteDoesNotCount.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KORTNv136doY6pGDt8EcLXPW-j3bb3NnWQ_TJzSJdpxn7J4bWPmX5JH3i5ljE28GKr0m-NVcakZ4vZnIq43PuxYLmo2bsCsObFI9KEAEFCETTAQPjR-JWyybznde8919BfGYkBr9UyI/s320/YourVoteDoesNotCount.png" /></a></div>
I believe most programmers can't help but fear that the outcome of elections for many years have been determined largely by incumbent politicians, bureaucrats and the handful of election software companies... all of them highly conservative.<br />
<br />
While there is probably still enough restraint to allow a landslide vote the other way to prevail, my own sense is that most single-digit victories probably are fraudulent.<br />
<br />
Democratic elections require transparent and verifiable election software at all levels. None is currently allowed in any binding election in this country today.<br />
<br />
The reaction to the 2000 presidential election debacle was a masterful use of a crisis to set in motion a campaign to strip away most of the civil rights gains of the last 50 years.<br />
<br />
Your vote doesn't count, and neither does mine, until this "electronic ballot-stuffing" is ended.DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-50842220756848649862015-05-30T07:17:00.000-04:002015-05-30T10:33:45.255-04:00Some Favorite Quotes<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAlbert_Einstein_Head.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="By Photograph by Oren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. Modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Albert Einstein Head" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Albert_Einstein_Head.jpg/256px-Albert_Einstein_Head.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."<br />
<i>Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."<br />
<i>widely attributed to George Orwell</i><br />
<i><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell">http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell</a></i><br />
<br />
"The price of freedom, is eternal vigilance."<br />
<i>Leonard H. Courtney, Thomas Jefferson, Jean-Luc Picard (fic.), et.al.</i><br />
<br />
"A rising tide sinks all boats that are anchored to the bottom."<http: detail="email" rickle-up-major-corporations-losing-money-out-the-wazoo="" story="" www.dailykos.com=""><br />
<http: user="" wo="" www.dailykos.com=""><i><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/Zwoo">http://www.dailykos.com/user/Zwoo</a></i><br />
<br />
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”<br />
<i> Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.</i><br />
<br />
<http: life-lessons-albert-einstein.html="" themindunleashed.org="">"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."<br />
<i>Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters."<br />
<i>Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"That is the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein, 1915</i><br />
<br />
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."<br />
<i> Albert Einstein</i><br />
<br />
"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true."<br />
<i> Branch Cabell, author of satirical fantasy</i><br />
<br />
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."<br />
<i>Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French writer (1900 - 1944)</i><br />
<br />
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-26621545696391365772015-04-29T00:46:00.000-04:002015-04-29T00:47:49.306-04:00Shellshock Summary<h3>
DESCRIPTION</h3>
<div 30pt="" quot="">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Twenty-five year old security flaw <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2014-6271%22" title=""CVE-2014-6271"">CVE-2014-6271</a> found in all versions of bash.<br />
Per <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html%22" title=""http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html"">http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The behavior is implemented as a hack involving specially-formatted environmental variables: in essence, any variable starting with a literal "() {" will be dispatched to the parser just before executing the main program. You can see this in action here:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">$ foo='() { echo "hi mom"; }' bash -c 'foo'</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">hi mom</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</div>
<h3>
NOTES</h3>
<ul 30pt="" quot="">
<li><u>2014-09-25 14:55:22</u> Experiments indicate that putting anything in front of the <code>()</code>, like a name for the function or the keyword <code>function</code>, disable the flawed behavior</li>
<li><u>2014-10-04 05:02:11</u> Calling bash from ash still passes all the commands in the variable(s)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
RESOURCES</h3>
<ul 30pt="" quot="">
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2014-6271%22" title=""CVE-2014-6271"">CVE-2014-6271</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html%22" title=""http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html"">http://lcamtuf.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-notes-about-bash-bug-its-impact.html</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157381/when-was-the-shellshock-cve-2014-6271-bug-introduced-and-what-is-the-patch-th?rq=1%22" title=""http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157381/when-was-the-shellshock-cve-2014-6271-bug-introduced-and-what-is-the-patch-th?rq=1"">http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157381/when-was-the-shellshock-cve-2014-6271-bug-introduced-and-what-is-the-patch-th?rq=1</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157329/what-does-env-x-something-bash-c-command-do-and-why-is-it-insecure%22" title=""http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157329/what-does-env-x-something-bash-c-command-do-and-why-is-it-insecure"">http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157329/what-does-env-x-something-bash-c-command-do-and-why-is-it-insecure</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/24/bash-shell-security-flaw/%22" title=""http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/24/bash-shell-security-flaw/"">http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/24/bash-shell-security-flaw/</a></li>
</ul>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-15052791204051626722015-04-13T09:25:00.000-04:002015-04-13T09:27:06.204-04:00Ayn Rand<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3310/3512774295_2bff2b938c_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Ayn Rand by Ian, on Flickr" border="0" height="200" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3310/3512774295_2bff2b938c_s.jpg" title="Ayn Rand by Ian, on Flickr" width="200" /></a></div>
Just watched <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/14/1120166/-Ayn-Rand-on-Johnny-Carson-make-this-go-viral" target="_blank">Ayn Rand on Johnny Carson (1967)</a><br />
<br />
This was not the usual late-night-talk-show guest interview. No jokes. Very serious. And went over into what was supposed to be another guest's time. (total of about 30mins)<br />
<br />
If Ayn Rand were alive today and could speak for herself, I think she would vigorously denounce Rand Paul, Paul Ryan and the rest of her "neo-disciples"... and they would denounce her.<br />
<br />
For example... In this interview, she very strongly asserts that no one has the right to another person's life. To that end, she clearly expresses her opposition to any draft for any reason. Only individuals have the right to decide to risk their lives.<br />
<br />
Seems to me that the Republicans have hijacked some of her philosophies (primarily laissez-faire capitalism) to justify destroying the lives of others in furtherance of their own affluence.<br />
<br />
This interview indicates that in her philosophy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)" target="_blank">Objectivism</a>, she expected everyone to vigorously pursue their own self-interest. To me, the flaw in it was that she seemed to think everyone had roughly the same capacity to do that. We know that they don't. But at the time of the interview (1967), the divergence was far smaller than it is today.<br />
<br />
I couldn't disagree more with today's Republican interpretation of Ayn Rand's philosophies. I could say the same about the Christian churches' interpretation of Jesus' philosophies. I think both have been used to further agendas that each would abhor were they alive.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that's why these "reinterpretations" have only come about well after the icons were too dead to disagree.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-19874471359337212882015-03-31T19:52:00.002-04:002015-06-01T08:35:02.737-04:00Republicans are Scared. We Democrats are too.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSyP3FIQnaAUxctVSMhpZrduKHXx2_MNWvF7hkB_sa-xMYJ6QA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img alt="Child Tending Broken Baby Seedling free creative commons" border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSyP3FIQnaAUxctVSMhpZrduKHXx2_MNWvF7hkB_sa-xMYJ6QA" title="Child Tending Broken Baby Seedling free creative commons" /></a></div>
We have become highly "risk-averse." The uncharitable would say, "cowardly."<br />
<br />
I've been one of those. But I may be coming out the other side now.<br />
<br />
We are afraid. We are overwhelmingly afraid.<br />
<br />
We have a lot to be afraid of. More than most of us can rationally handle.<br />
<br />
For most people, "truth" is almost totally determined by how much we trust the speaker. But Watergate began an irreversible erosion in the reliability of that instinct in this country. Iran-Contra was another milestone in that process. The 2000 presidential election.<br />
<br />
The election of Barak Obama filled us with hope that the nightmare was finally over.<br />
<br />
Then came Mitch McConnell and the R's war on the the first black Presidency, the Supreme Court's ruling on Citizen's United, and countless other recent events.<br />
<br />
Now we have ISIS and Ebola... dangers for which it is socially acceptable to freak-out over because they are external rather than internal.<br />
<br />
(Maybe it's like beating up somebody for calling your brother names... the same brother you pick on mercilessly every day.)<br />
<br />
The freakout over Ebola is really our pent up fears finally having an outlet for their expression.<br />
<br />
"Fight" and "flight" are both reactions to fear. Despite our prejudices, "flight" is often a wiser choice for ultimate success and survival than "fight."<br />
<br />
Most species have a predilection, an instinctive bias, for one or the other. Cultures often develop such biases too. But unlike instincts, cultural bias can take less time to change in light of traumatic events.<br />
<br />
By the 1940s, the Japanese culture had developed a "fight" bias when faced with adversity. A couple of atom-bombs however converted them to a more thoughtful "flight" bias. Look at them now!<br />
<br />
The Republicans have a strong prejudicial "fight" bias. For them, "offense" is not just "the best defense," it's the ONLY defense. Anything else is considered shameful.<br />
<br />
Democrats however have a "flight" bias. Most try to avoid conflict, "find common ground," and compromise for the common good.<br />
<br />
Democrats force ourselves to respect the views of people we truly believe are just "bat-shit-crazy."<br />
<br />
Democrats often have "bleeding hearts," but they bleed because their heads are restraining them from trying to give more than they have.<br />
<br />
Democrats work hard to stretch forethought as far as possible to anticipate and overcome problems with our own ideas. (A practice that's often used against us, BTW.)<br />
<br />
Democrats then, it seems to me, are the only hope our country has for survival. We are the only ones looking ahead, and using our heads, to overcome the dangers we face.<br />
<br />
I never thought I'd say this but... Republicans are not "bad people."<br />
<br />
They're just scared.<br />
<br />
It is up to Democrats to protect them as well as ourselves.<br />
<br />
It's up to Democrats to find solutions, as Republican fears have stopped them from even trying.<br />
<br />
The Republican leadership have become like cornered animals. All rationality is gone. They see little or no way out. The only, very slim chance they see for survival, is an almost certainly suicidal attack.<br />
<br />
We Democrats have to get off their backs and take action ourselves... though we don't know what to do any more than they do.<br />
<br />
But their "fight" bias has them taking action anyhow. Actions that have put us all in that desperate corner.<br />
<br />
Those Republican actions are lethal.<br />
<br />
We Democrats had better figure out better ones... and quickly.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-30831851295591864952014-10-11T16:39:00.000-04:002015-04-29T00:24:18.000-04:00Germany offers free college tuition to U.S. and international students<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335669/-Germany-offers-free-college-tuition-to-U-S-and-international-students" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Germany offers free college tuition to U.S. and international students" border="0" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/110360/large/german.jpg?1412953754" height="172" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335669/-Germany-offers-free-college-tuition-to-U-S-and-international-students" target="_blank">All German universities are now free to Americans and all other international students. The last German state to charge tuition at its universities struck down the fees this week.</a></blockquote>
<br />
The ramifications...</div>
<ul>
<li>Germany is about to be flooded with student visa applications.</li>
<li>The cost of rent in Germany will skyrocket.</li>
<li>The Germany economy is about to boom to far greater than that of the U.S. on a per-capita basis.</li>
<li>German is about to become the hottest course in U.S. schools.</li>
<li>U.S. student enrollment is about to plummet causing a short-term spike in tuition in a futile attempt to make up the difference. After a year or two, the U.S. will be forced to follow Germany's lead.</li>
<li>A great many U.S. students that get into Germany will do their best to stay after graduation as European governments and societies share the beliefs and ideals of young people far better than the U.S.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<em>Maybe there <strong>is</strong> hope...</em><br />
<em><br /></em>DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-20563667293861611972014-09-26T19:00:00.002-04:002014-09-26T19:05:58.676-04:00Shellshocked?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157830/should-bash-shells-be-replaced-with-the-new-patched-version" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="StackExchange: Unix/Linux" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiVcQj-iT1YIG53iFnPF_rcWgN7ZQv_fw0yHOK7z97vblI3UnUu17vCDt0waYTEny0pR0yvzBBCyqquNH_G1GylcjTLQBodTe5i6cEngqCwexeLw7IITGyTB34XPGwazyY6qF2eB41UL3G4cdWF8NXpQIIrp03wq4LV37ydmREr3ncpQ_Sr=w120-h120" height="200" title="StackExchange: Unix/Linux" width="200" /></a></div>
<strong style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The question...</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/157830/should-bash-shells-be-replaced-with-the-new-patched-version" target="_blank">Should bash shells be replaced with the new patched version?</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2014/09/24/Bourne-Again-Shell-Bash-Remote-Code-Execution-Vulnerability" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">US-CERT recommends users and administrators review TA14-268A, Vulnerability Note VU#252743 and the Redhat Security Blog (link is external) for additional details and to refer to their respective Linux or Unix-based OS vendor(s) for an appropriate patch.</a></blockquote>
<div>
<strong style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A fact...</strong></div>
<br />
<ul style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1em 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.tomsguide.com/us/shellshock-flaw-day2,news-19618.html" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Bash is standard on Mac OS X and many Linux systems"</a></li>
</ul>
<div style="border: 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A timeline...</strong></div>
<ul style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1em 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/speculation-emerges-apple-security-flaw-may-be-tied-to-nsa-spying/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oct 2012 - "Apple is added to the NSA’s list of penetrated servers"</a></li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/31/apple-says-it-has-never-worked-with-nsa-to-create-iphone-backdoors-is-unaware-of-alleged-dropoutjeep-snooping-program/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dec 2013 - Apple Says It Has Never Worked With NSA...</a></li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/19/did-the-nsa-demand-apples-data" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sep 19, 2014 - Likely that NSA has now demanded Apple's data and they are resisting</a></li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2014/09/24/Bourne-Again-Shell-Bash-Remote-Code-Execution-Vulnerability" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #2b6d97; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sep 24, 2014 - US-CERT is aware of a Bash vulnerability affecting Unix-based operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X</a></li>
</ul>
<div style="border: 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ramifications...</strong></div>
<ul style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1em 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">The Bash shellshock "vulnerability" has been a "feature" of Bash for 22 years. You'd think in all that time, in all those high-security environments that run Unix or Linux, someone would have worried about misuse.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Now, every installation of Bash in the world is about to be replaced.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Though Bash is open-source, few people actually take the time to study the code of such large and complex programs.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Bash is written in C, which supports embedded assembly-language code. Code that even fewer programmers have the skills to read.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Bash is written in C, which easily supports treating any block of binary, such as something labeled as data or a small image, as code.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Thus, a skilled programmer could hide "backdoor" code in plain sight, and it probably wouldn't be discovered unless it caused an error of some kind.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Extremely high-skilled programmers that break the law are often employed by federal agencies.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-21101340895754518902014-07-22T01:42:00.000-04:002014-07-22T02:08:56.995-04:00What are all you people doing here?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVheHdzE1KMomi1NWdnK5SifxBsVOvPpzRyoJNosIF5Aj4cSi2G6-1VZLg9OnM0oh7NWCUjHc7sP5scas70bLPFcSgAFgtTDsDlizqpfobtvnQ8dU_QCTh36_IhvMMPCzn50d5GEJ7Ms/s1600/WieskircheGates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Pearly Gates (Wieskirche Gates)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVheHdzE1KMomi1NWdnK5SifxBsVOvPpzRyoJNosIF5Aj4cSi2G6-1VZLg9OnM0oh7NWCUjHc7sP5scas70bLPFcSgAFgtTDsDlizqpfobtvnQ8dU_QCTh36_IhvMMPCzn50d5GEJ7Ms/s1600/WieskircheGates.jpg" height="179" title="The Pearly Gates (Wieskirche Gates)" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wieskirche Gates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"<i>What are all you people doing here?</i>" said God as he stood barring the Pearly Gates.<br />
<br />
"<i>Why didn't you save us?</i>" said the multitudes before him.<br />
<br />
God replied...<br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you my son so you'd learn the nobility of self sacrifice. You didn't.</i><br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you Ebola so you'd learn compassion for those you feared. You didn't.</i><br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you AIDS so you'd learn humility that such things could happen to those you loved. You didn't.</i><br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you terrorism so you'd learn that oppression by the few will always be overthrown by the many. You didn't.</i><br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you climate change so you'd learn to wisely recycle your waste lest nature do it for you... most harshly. You didn't.</i><br />
<br />
"<i>I sent you these things and many more, that your souls might be saved.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>So. Can we go in now?</i>" a man asked.<br />
<br />
God replied, "<i>What do <b>you</b> think?</i>"<br />
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-65832438884687599892014-07-07T06:34:00.001-04:002015-04-15T05:40:06.841-04:00"How extreme isolation warps the mind"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140514-how-extreme-isolation-warps-minds" target="_blank"><img alt="How extreme isolation warps the mind" border="0" src="http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/976_549/images/live/p0/1z/1z/p01z1zfd.jpg" height="179" title="How extreme isolation warps the mind" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.875px; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140514-how-extreme-isolation-warps-minds" target="_blank">(Getty Images)</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140514-how-extreme-isolation-warps-minds" target="_blank"><i>How extreme isolation warps the mind, Michael Bond, 14 May 2014, www.BBC.com</i></a><br />
<br />
My own theory goes something like this...<br />
<br />
All that we perceive is the result of our imagination.<br />
<br />
All raw sensory input is interpreted by our imagination.<br />
<br />
If there is little or no sensory input, such as while sleeping or in extreme isolation, our imagination proceeds to rummage around through our memories for "input" to re-interpret.<br />
<br />
This extrapolating and recombining and juxtapositioning is the process by which we solve problems and think creatively. The process by which we "imagine."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
What if however, we have little or no experience in inputless-creative thinking? What if all of our experiences have been entirely reactive to our senses, primarily from interactions with others?<br />
<br />
We could find ourselves unequipped to organize this rather chaotic free-association of sensory-deprived imagination.<br />
<br />
Some people, by aptitude or experience, even come to depend on some amount of sensory-deprivation in order to think more creatively.<br />
<br />
Writers seek isolation when working on a novel. Programmers require lots of uninterrupted solitude. Scientific theorists like Einstein and Hawking spend vast amounts of time in solitude to imagine new angles from which to examine ideas.<br />
<br />
Perhaps a "warped mind" is a terrible thing to waste?<br />
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-49943666808071539122014-06-25T15:37:00.000-04:002015-06-01T08:17:08.805-04:00Economics 101: Something from nothing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/lovgupta1/keynesian-multiplier-effects" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Keynesian money multiplier effects" border="0" src="http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/52722453.png" height="240" title="Keynesian money multiplier effects" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/lovgupta1/keynesian-multiplier-effects" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 3em;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've learned that my post back in January 2014 (below) was greatly inaccurate though the result is still essentially the same. -- docsalvage, June 2014</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>See the Wikipedia article...<br />
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<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply#Example" target="_blank">Money Supply - Fractional Reserve Banking - example</a></i></i></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
Economics 101 tries to teach us that "the money supply," GDP, GNP, and every other discussion of "the economy" doesn't count "money" the way you and I do. If I give you a dollar for some service, to you and me, our two-person "economy" still only has a "money supply" of one dollar.<br />
<br />
However, economics doesn't actually count "dollars." It counts "dollar transactions." In economics, if I give you a dollar, our "economy" now has a money supply of 2 dollars! If you then pay me for a service, our money supply has increased to $3! Three times what we started with! The more transactions there are in an economy, the higher the Gross Domestic/National Product. It's called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplier_(economics)" target="_blank">Money Multiplier</a>. That's why the terms use the word "product." It refers to the mathematical "product" of a multiplication.<br />
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The result is that $1 given to a poor person will become part of many more transactions than $1 given to a rich person because the poor person spends that dollar immediately for many low-priced goods and services. When the rich person finally spends that dollar, it will be for higher priced products and thus fewer of them. Even though they cost more, it's not nearly enough to make up for the money created by the multiplier at work as many poor-person-dollars make their way through many hands. The lower the prices, the more times the dollar will likely change hands and thus the greater the multiplier.<br />
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-32241080591122117812014-05-12T11:25:00.000-04:002015-06-01T08:10:00.488-04:00On Income Inequality ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/05/09/istock_000014984139medium-677a82901a6008982bdb82107f090d95deef903b-s3-c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/05/09/istock_000014984139medium-677a82901a6008982bdb82107f090d95deef903b-s3-c85.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i>re: </i></b><br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/05/08/310784652/on-income-inequality-a-french-economist-vs-an-american-capitalist" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">On Income Inequality: A French Economist Vs. An American Capitalist</span></i></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">by <a href="http://www.npr.org/people/98525078/marilyn-geewax">MARILYN GEEWAX</a>, May 11, 2014 5:40 AM ET</span></blockquote>Strangely enough, I think they're both right... In the same way each of the proverbial blind-men is right in their description of the elephant they only know by touch.<br />
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The healthiest possible economy occurs when 100% of the population feels maximum incentive to risk innovation in the pursuit of happiness (i.e. success).<br />
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Because the motivaters of the 1% are mostly in opposition to those of the 99%, maximum prosperity can only be achieved at some point of equilibrium between them. We've been WAY out of equilibrium for about 10-20 years.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
The 99% are largely rewarded for their labor. Motivation is driven by seeing the fruits of that labor.<br />
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The 1% are largely rewarded for their money(capital). Motivation is driven by success in managing risks to that capital.<br />
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Progressive Taxes on Capital vs. Minimum Wage ...<br />
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Both are a "cost" to the 1% and "a redistribution of wealth."<br />
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However, taxes require a second step in order to benefit the economy... they must be equitably distributed to the 99% through various programs. There-in is the rub for many.<br />
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Either taxes+distribution, or higher-wages will be spent ... and re-spent ... and re-spent .. with the 1% making a profit at each step. Eventually, every penny distributed to the 99% comes back to the 1%. In fact, the more wealth is distributed, the more wealth accrues to the 1%.<br />
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Henry Ford recognized this and paid his workers dramatically higher wages than his competition. In so doing, his workers could afford to buy the cars they made. So he actually got a lot of those wages right back in profitable sales. The rest, as they say, is history...<br />
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SUMMARY (finally) ...<br />
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What's "practical" in the production of goods and services is dramatically greater today and growing rapidly. Until our expectations catch up, a great many people will lack gainful employment. The only way for them to contribute to (and thus "grow") the economy is to spend government redistributed income.<br />
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Those who have jobs contribute most by being given more to spend.<br />
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So it turns out that, when you look at the entire "elephant" that is our economy, that old moral holds true for hard-nosed money-making too...<br />
<br />
... "The more you give, the more you receive."<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><h4>The Circle of the Life of Money</h4>But <b><i>does</i></b> it all end up back in the pockets of the 1%"?<br />
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Actually, I would argue, yeah it does. Here's why.</div><div><div><br />
</div><div>The most important thing I learned in economics class was that discussions of "the economy" don't count money the way you and I do in our everyday lives.</div><div><br />
</div><div>To us, a given dollar is a thing that only one person can have at a time. Absolutely true for us. The economists call this "microeconomics."</div><div><br />
</div><div>However, a "dollar" in any discussion of GNP, GDP, "the economy", etc. is a "macroeconomic dollar" which would be better named a "dollar transaction."</div><div><br />
</div><div>If we start with $1 that you have and you give it to me for some service, to you and me there is still only $1 between us. However, our macroeconomic "Gross Domestic Product" in our economy of two, is actually now $2.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There have been two $1 transactions. The first was however you got the $1, including by your credit-card company or bank creating it out of thin-air in the form of credit. The second was the transaction of you paying me. We have both received $1 of benefit from that original $1.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Back to the U.S. economy...</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, if the health of our economy is measured by transactions, then the more transactions there are, the higher our GDP and the "healthier" our economy.</div><div><br />
</div><div>A key point... If you pay me $1, and then I turn around pay you $1, and you pay me $1 again, we now have a GDP of $4! This is the "money supply circulation."</div><div><br />
</div><div>You may note however, that we haven't necessarilly done anything for that $4 that truely benefits anyone. These transactions could, for example, just be gambling winnings from playing Blackjack with $1 bets. ( I would argue that this is essentially what Wall Street does, writ-large, but that's another discussion. )</div><div><br />
</div><div>So... the faster the money supply circulates (that is, the more transactions there are in a given period of time) the larger the GDP.</div><div><br />
</div><div>If most of the "wealth" is held by the 1%, and "wealth" is the sum of many transactions, then most transactions involve the 1%. Record profits and stock prices tell us that the net effect of those transactions leaves the 1% better off and the 99% worse off.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thus, for much of the time, most of the money is passing through the hands of the 1%.</div></div><div><br />
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</div><div><br />
</div>DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-21092897279162977912014-05-01T23:52:00.000-04:002014-05-01T23:53:31.669-04:00Change of address for robertcwatson@yahoo.com<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)">Yahoo has chosen to become agressive in its competition with Gmail.<br><br>I've been paying $19.99/yr for Yahoo Mail Plus so the Yahoo mail would be imported to Gmail via POP3. Recently Yahoo added DMARC policies in response to the Heartbleed panic which have broken that functionality. They've made no attempt to contact their users or help with problems.<br> <br><a href="https://help.yahoo.com/kb/mail/cancel-yahoo-mail-sln3496.html">Their page stated that the normal free email now included POP3 forwardin</a>g so I cancelled Yahoo Mail Plus. I now find that <a href="https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN7822.html?impressions=true">that was a mistake that Yahoo will not fix</a>.</div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)"> I've found no resolution other than now <a href="https://help.yahoo.com/kb/mail/SLN15954.html">paying Yahoo $49.99/yr for their newly named</a> but no new capability, "Ad-Free Service".</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)"> <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif"><font size="4" color="#9900ff"><b>Thus, please direct all future email to me at robertcwatson1@gmail .com</b></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)"> <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)">Good Riddance to Yahoo</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,153)"> Robert</div><div><div dir="ltr"><i><font face="garamond, serif" color="#006600" size="1"><b>Trust in truth keeps hope alive</b></font></i> <span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"><i><span style="font-family:times new roman,serif"></span></i></span><font size="1"><b style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"><i><span style="font-family:times new roman,serif"></span></i></b></font><div> <b style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"><i><font size="1"><a href="mailto:robertcwatson1@gmail.com" target="_blank">robertcwatson1@gmail.com</a><br></font></i></b><div><i><font face="garamond, serif" size="1" color="#0000ff"><b><a href="http://www.docsalvage.info/" target="_blank">www.docsalvage.info</a><br> </b></font></i></div><div><i><font face="garamond, serif" size="1"><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.softwarerevisions.net/" target="_blank">www.softwarerevisions.net</a></font></font></i></div></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"><span style="font-family:'times new roman',serif;color:rgb(51,51,255)"><font size="1"><i><a href="http://www.civicchorale.org/" target="_blank">www.CivicChorale.org</a></i></font></span></span><i><font face="garamond, serif" size="1"><br> </font></i></div><div><a href="http://www.charliecrist.com/" target="_blank"><br><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2010/04/charlie-crist-florida-governor-427mn042110_thumbnail.jpg" alt=" Charlie Crist for Governor, Florida, 2014"></a> <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.healthcare.gov/images/logo.png" width="200" height="20"></a> <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Tallahassee,%20FL" target="_blank"><img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/weathersticker/smalltemp/language/english/US/FL/Tallahassee.gif"></a> <br> </div></div></div> </div> DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-67184334318827918422014-04-18T08:20:00.003-04:002014-04-18T08:21:59.238-04:00HeartBleed - Not So Fast?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://heartbleed.com/heartbleed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://heartbleed.com/heartbleed.png" border="0" src="http://heartbleed.com/heartbleed.png" height="200" title="http://heartbleed.com/heartbleed.png" width="165" /></a></div>
--- CAUTION -- Blasphemy Warning --<br />
<br />
I've been programming computers since 1981 and run several in my "home lab." I haven't done anything yet in response to Heartbleed.<br />
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Recommendations based on my experience...<br />
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Windows Systems -- Watch the tech news for a week or two after patches/upgrades are released to see if they work and don't screw other things up. Then apply and watch for another week to be sure your systems are running okay and give the big services more time to insure they have everything reliably fixed. Then change passwords.<br />
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Mac Systems -- Do whatever Apple says to do. It's usually right.<br />
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Android Systems -- Most software is automatically updated so nothing to do. Wait a few weeks to change passwords.<br />
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Linux Systems --Many systems are using older, unaffected versions of OpenSSL so nothing to do. If you have affected systems and they're running servers, patch/upgrade OpenSSL and related software even though there might be problems. People are depending on you. If you're running as anything else, keep watching tech news for reliability of OpenSSL and related patches/upgrades. Patch/upgrade when everything is stable.<br />
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If you don't have "a system" for assigning passwords, this might be a good time to develop one. Change passwords when all the major services you use are fixed. It does no good, and even exposes you more, to change your password and then connect to an unupgraded system.<br />
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DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-41936343469787582712014-03-12T18:15:00.001-04:002014-03-12T18:18:31.634-04:00Charlie Crist for Governor<a href="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-prn2/t1/c40.0.160.160/p160x160/1486808_10152507601083312_808897460_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><br /><img border="0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-prn2/t1/c40.0.160.160/p160x160/1486808_10152507601083312_808897460_n.jpg" /></a>Former (Republican) Governor Charlie Crist has come over from "the dark side" and is running to be our next (Democratic) Governor. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/charliecrist#" target="_blank">Want to help him out?</a><br />
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With the massive unlimited money that the Koch Brothers and other Republicans are already throwing behind incumbent Rick Scott, "the odds are against us, and the situation is grim."<br />
<br />
But times have changed dramatically. My generation still gets most of their info from TV, and so will be saturated with millions of dollars of highly polish and cleverly deceptive anti-Crist propaganda. And there's a lot of us in Florida.<br />
<br />
But younger generations (and a smattering of us old farts) recognize that there's a lot more truth on the Internet... and we've learned how to find it. We've learned to distinguish truth from the Internet's abundance of unsubstantiated opinion and undeclared fiction. That gives us an edge.<br />
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Koch and company are trying to buy votes, as they just did in the 13th District defeat of Democrat Alex Sink. Their base is made up of diligent voters. Our base is not. So they have the advantage of money and participation.<br />
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What we have truth, honesty, compassion, thoughtfulness, empathy for all and...<br />
<br />
... we still believe we can make a difference<br />
<br />
... we still believe that tomorrow can be better than today<br />
<br />
... we still believe that WE can be better tomorrow than we are today.<br />
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The history of our country is replete with dramatically outspent candidates that won. Money does not necessarily buy votes. We must remember that...<br />
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WE, together, are the government.<br />
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WE, together, own this country.<br />
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WE, together, decide what is right and wrong.<br />
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But WE have let our representatives become our masters.<br />
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And WE have the authority and the responsibility to set things right.<br />
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We must try. For even if we fail, our efforts inspire others to try again.<br />
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Sound like fun?<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/charliecrist#" target="_blank">... help elect Charlie Crist</a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;">I'm not affiliated with the Crist campaign in any way. I can't help in person they way they need but will keep writing in support of Charlie Crist for Governor -- robert "docsalvage" watson</span></i></div>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-41747251386492810292014-03-09T13:15:00.002-04:002014-03-12T18:21:17.491-04:00An Ounce of Prevention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>re...</b><br />
<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246705/Microsoft_misjudges_customer_loyalty_with_kill_XP_plea" target="_blank">Microsoft misjudges customer loyalty with kill-XP plea</a><br />
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This is what happens when your business model is built on continued dependency, not to mention planned obsolescence.<br />
<br />
The Linux community is not immune to this either. The most popular distros like Ubuntu are becoming more Microsoft-like in their O/S design every day.<br />
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Any software that depends on continuous upgrades just to maintain existing functionality will always be "extortion-able."<br />
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How many of us would own a car that had to be upgraded every year or two just to keep running?<br />
<br />
The solution is to stop designing software that allows only one version to be installed on a system at a time. Almost all software is like this today even though multiple copies of the executable itself would usually run just fine together. The problem is that the executables are designed to expect one and one one copy of the config files and other resources.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Only minor design changes would be necessary to allow multiple versions to be installed on the same system. This would dramatically ease migrating to new versions by removing the #1 obstacle that delays upgrades... insuring 100% compatibility with mission-critical functionalities.<br />
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Patching vulnerabilities in old versions is largely an exercise in futility. There are far more highly motivated malicious actors out there than there are legitimate developers.<br />
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The only realistic way to secure a system is with detailed, comprehensive, continuous inventorying. Computers sit idle more than they are in use. Instead of running some goofy "screensaver," they should be setup to use the time to automatically look for unauthorized files and insure that executables have not been altered.<br />
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To use an analogy, we should stop running to Dr. AntiMalware (i.e. a sales opportunity) all the time and instead boost our computers' "immune systems" to better feed on those foreign substances.<br />
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DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-23464654181024367622014-03-09T11:30:00.000-04:002014-03-12T18:22:21.105-04:00Wildlife Ambassadors<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://collections.tallahasseemuseum.org/awweb/pdfopener?sid=B967CA1857942B75A034709B3F0D5706&did=2046&md=1&fp=/THUMBNAIL/GF1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://collections.tallahasseemuseum.org/awweb/pdfopener?sid=B967CA1857942B75A034709B3F0D5706&did=2046&md=1&fp=/THUMBNAIL/GF1.png" /></a></div>
<a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/seaworld-orcas-captivity-california-ban-blackfish/?akid=4255.624427.VL7js7&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=3" target="_blank">Instead of banning Orca captivity entirely as a California Congressman's bill does</a>, I actually think there should be laws requiring much more humane living conditions for them. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaworld" target="_blank">SeaWorld</a> has done more for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca" target="_blank">Orcas</a> that anyone else by bringing them into our world. If not for SeaWorld and other major aquariums, the public wouldn't care any more about "Killer Whales" than they do about sharks, rattlesnakes, scorpions... get my drift?<br />
<br />
Yesterday, my daughter finally dragged me to the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=tallahassee+museum+of+history+and+natural+science&num=30&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&biw=1325&bih=597" target="_blank">Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science (nee The Junior Museum)</a><br />
<br />
If you haven't been there, <a href="http://tallahasseemuseum.org/" target="_blank">TMHNS</a> is much more a natural habitat zoo than a museum. Like virtually all zoos in the U.S., they do as much as they can within their meager budget to provide natural habitat space for wildlife. Only a few dangerous animals like poisonous snakes live in "cages" (aquariums). Most live in well fenced areas of native Florida habitat of several thousand square feet or more. Visitors are kept high above these enclosures of palmetto bushes, huge oak trees and cypress swamp on a well maintained wooden walkway. The animals ignore us most of the time.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Captive wildlife are the (admittedly unwilling) ambassadors for their species. Without them, humanity's only interest would be in killing them.<br />
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Obviously, business interests alone are insufficient to insure humane wildlife captivity. We must require it by instructing our representatives to formulate laws that cover all facilities. That way, the businesses are all "on a level playing field." All must meet the same requirements. Any that can do that will succeed. If they can't, they shouldn't be in operation.<br />
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That said, proposals like the one in California, put the issue on the radar. As it goes farther than I (and probably many people) support, it would likely be compromised down to something more reasonable so our support gives its sponsors leverage.DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-76493020369819345332014-03-09T09:32:00.000-04:002014-03-09T09:33:30.808-04:00Courage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/13/five-leadership-lessons-from-jean-luc-picard/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /><img alt=" Five Leadership Lessons From Jean-Luc Picard, 2012, Alex Knapp, Forbes" border="0" src="http://the21stcenturyworkplace.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/picard-facepalm.jpg?w=640" height="214" title="Five Leadership Lessons From Jean-Luc Picard" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>A note to conservatives...</b><br />
<br />
We know you're scared s***less of any kind of human progress. If it hasn't been done before, it must be "... lies straight from the pit of hell."<br />
<br />
We try to explain that things will be better with improvements in the human condition. But your fears just won't let you go there. We understand.<br />
<br />
The survival of the human race depends on overcoming our fears of the unknown... "to boldly go where no one has gone before."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/13/five-leadership-lessons-from-jean-luc-picard/" target="_blank">That famous line was a metaphor by-the-way</a>. While fictionally "exploring strange new worlds," the story-tellers were really exploring the human condition. How we treat each other. How we react to change. How we overcome our beliefs in what is possible on encountering the "impossible". And how we embrace it a grow as a result.<br />
<br />
We know your fears for they are ours too. We've chosen to let our rational minds hold our fears at bay, for there is no way out of fear but through change.<br />
<br />
The only way to remove a threat is to learn. We either learn to understand that it is not really a threat, or we learn how to mitigate or overcome it. We'll keep trying.DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-74405229478550129082014-03-07T11:39:00.000-05:002014-03-07T12:28:51.941-05:00The Evolution Of Cancer<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" {{Information |Description=Labelled diagram of a cell undergoing apoptosis. |Source=Self |Date=18 Dec 2006 |Author=Emma Farmer |Permission=Public Domain }}" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Apoptosis.png" height="320" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 9.333333015441895px; line-height: 14.395833015441895px; text-align: start;">Labelled diagram of a cell undergoing<br />
apoptosis. 18 Dec 2006 by Emma Farmer </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">... updated 2014-03-07</span></em></h4>
<em>This is speculation. Pure speculation. I am not a doctor, researcher, academic or politician. I just read a lot.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>Is cancer piecemeal evolution?</strong><br />
<br />
We know that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer" target="_blank" title="cancer">cancer</a> is uncontrolled cell growth. The process that causes cells to die naturally gets turned off. This natural process is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis" target="_blank">apoptosis</a>. <i>From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis" target="_blank">Wikipedia: Apoptosis...</a></i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Excessive apoptosis causes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrophy">atrophy</a>, whereas an insufficient amount results in uncontrolled cell proliferation, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer">cancer</a>.</i></blockquote>
As we eat better (verses starvation), have fewer predators and accidents and cure diseases, we live longer than our ancestors. But that evolution is never uniform. Parts of us live longer with little or no change to other parts. The more uniform and advantageous the changes though, the longer we live and thus the more we reproduce and pass on the traits to our offspring. The longer we live, the more knowledge and perspective we accumulate that can be passed on to others.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Most cancers don't seem to be associated with a virus, bacteria, fungus or other parasite. Of those that are, we don't know if the foreign organism is causative or just opportunistic. Some of the most prevalent cancers are pretty clearly at least promoted, if not caused by, cell damage (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrosis" target="_blank">necrosis</a>) such as lung cancer from smoking and skin cancer from sunburn.<br />
<br />
When cells are damaged, the body rushes resources to the site for repair. Extra red blood cells carry oxygen and other nutrients thus causing redness (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflamation" target="_blank">inflammation</a>) often seen around the area. Platelets provide framing to rebuild tissue. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phagocyte" target="_blank">Phagocytes</a> and other antibodies attack anything they deem foreign.<br />
<br />
<strong>Do biopsies accelerate tumor growth?</strong><br />
<br />
The only way to know for sure if something is cancerous is usually with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_biopsy" target="_blank">biopsy</a>. Small, well defined tumors like skin tumors may be removed entirely and examined for cancer. In others, a biopsy needle is used to remove tissue in the suspected area for examination under a microscope. Often many samples, up to 15 or more, are taken, thus causing a great deal of damage. If there's no cancer at all, the body's normal healing process eventually repairs the damage and all is well. If cancer is detected and aggressively treated, usually the tumor is removed and the area or the entire body is subjected to radiation and/or chemotherapy in an effort to destroy any undetectable cancerous cells remaining. If successful, the damage is repaired and many years of life remain.<br />
<br />
But cancer treatment rarely results in a complete cure. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remission_(medicine)#Remission" target="_blank">Remission</a> is achieved by eliminating enough damaged cells for the body's natural processes to clean up the rest. However, the biopsies and some forms of treatment traumatically damage thousands of additional cells, which can further overwhelm the body's already strained resources.<br />
<br />
<strong>Should we decide </strong><em>before</em><strong> any biopsy what our intentions are if cancer is found?</strong><br />
<br />
<h4>
RESOURCES</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2013/04/08/watching-cancers-evolve-using-liquid-biopsies/" target="_blank">Watching cancers evolve using ‘liquid biopsies’</a> <span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;">April 8, 2013, Cancer Research UK</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134273751/doctors-debate-criteria-for-prostate-biopsy" target="_blank">Doctors Debate Criteria For Prostate Biopsy</a> <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">March 7, 2011, NP</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">R</span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686899678732260585.post-48835311592717635872014-03-06T11:23:00.000-05:002014-03-06T11:58:18.965-05:00Docker Software<a href="https://www.docker.io/the_whole_story/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Docker, Docker logo and dotCloud are trademarks or registered trademarks of Docker, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Docker, Inc. and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein." border="0" height="153" src="https://blog.linode.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/docker.png" title="Docker, Docker logo and dotCloud are trademarks or registered trademarks of Docker, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Docker, Inc. and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein." width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.docker.io/the_whole_story/" target="_blank">Docker</a> open source software packages applications and all their dependencies into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LXC" target="_blank">LXC virtual containers</a> that run on any Linux distribution.<br />
<br />
The Docker <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command-line_interface" target="_blank">command line interface (CLI)</a> makes it a building-block tool that can virtually eliminate "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_hell" target="_blank">dependency hell</a>." Docker may do for application packaging what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)" target="_blank">Git</a> has done for source code management.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Unlike GUI-only software, any Linux CLI application can easily be controlled and presented by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface" target="_blank">GUI (graphical user interface)</a>. No doubt, numerous GUIs will soon appear and integration with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_development_environment" target="_blank">IDE's</a> like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geany" target="_blank">Geany</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(software)" target="_blank">Eclipse</a> are about as complicated as throwing together a salad.<br />
<br />
A CLI command and its arguments (parameters) are just a string of printable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII" target="_blank">ASCII</a> text, so they constitute an ad-hoc "meta-language command." One that can be combined, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego" target="_blank">Lego-blocks</a>-like, with any combination of other CLI programs in infinite ways.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While any powerful compiled language like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%2B%2B" target="_blank">C++</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)" target="_blank">Java</a> can call CLI applications, solutions are most often crafted more rapidly in interpreted environments like Linux shells. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2B" target="_blank">GTK+</a> based tools like <a href="https://code.google.com/p/gtkdialog/" target="_blank">GtkDialog</a>, <a href="http://code.google.com/p/yad/" target="_blank">Yad</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenity" target="_blank">Zenity</a> and <a href="http://linux.die.net/man/1/xmessage" target="_blank">xmessage</a> add the GUI presentation and control functionality to these shell scripts, while <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)" target="_blank">Python</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Php" target="_blank">PHP</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl" target="_blank">Perl</a> or even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javascript" target="_blank">Javascript</a> may be used for more complex graphical interfaces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Docker provides an extremely lightweight, but extremely powerful (dare I say, "<a href="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/12/15.html" target="_blank">elegant</a>"?) framework for packaging and distributing software. It allows building on existing containers while keeping different versions isolated, and do it all with a single command supporting a host of options.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Docker will definitely be part of my development future.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <b>Resources</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docker_(software)" target="_blank">Docker software on Wikipedia</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.docker.io/the_whole_story/" target="_blank">Docker: The Whole Story</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://docs.docker.io/en/latest/" target="_blank">Docker: Documentation</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://docker.com/">Docker.com</a></li>
</ul>
DocSalvagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01273502307832687243noreply@blogger.com0