First, from the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that division. This is a booklet to play the familiar game “Hangman”. Your guesses are under those silver dots, which are printed using the same technology as scratch and win lotto tickets. I’ve never seen this before. Brilliant (but I've never seen them since). The picture isn't clear, but this is NOT a tablet computer, it is a printed page in a booklet. The second new thing for today is some orange-pineapple soda. I bought a 12-pack. Not bad, but not a winner either.
Today’s trivia. Some English researchers have discovered that when you see recognize the face of somebody you like, you subconsciously make that face for an instant. I agree with that, and suspect women are probably better at detecting it. A secret pity goes out to those fond of Martha Stewart.Again, the heat kept me indoors, so here is some other trivia I’ve skimmed. A new crime called “Identity Fraud” is not the same as theft. All the e-crook* needs is your name, address and credit card number to enroll you for free promotions. No money is stolen; they are after the free money cards or credits they receive from the marketing company for recruiting new sign-ups.
This brand of law-breaking has one common factor: unwillingness of the authorities to regulate those supplying the incentive. Also from Hacking magazine, I read a full page ad for IPSnitch. This is the software used to create fake e-mail return addresses. The trick is to get you to respond thinking it is an old friend, whence the software gleans your ip address, notifying the scammer by text message of your details. The same ad was pushing TattleTale, Spoofem, and Spoofnet. If you don’t know what those are, you are worse off than you think.
The new complaint in the news y’day about cruise lines charging double occupancy to single travelers (an item I covered just last week) is pure coincidence. I was referring to that same scam of some twenty-five years ago. The recent cruise line complaint has nothing to do with this blog [that I am aware of].
Plus, imagine my surprise to hear two people in the supermarket checkout discussing “temporal myopia”. That represents a level of education not common in these parts and got my attention. Ah, but you want to know what it is. Do the test. First, imagine what you will be doing a month from now. Not generally, but visualize exact circumstances. Good, now go six months ahead, now a year.
If, as you try to think further into the future, the mental picture you get is fuzzier or hazier, you have an untreatable mental condition called temporal myopia. It is not hereditary, though I am the only one in my entire family that does not have it in spades. A related symptom known as “hyperbolic discounting” is present in severe cases. This is where people choose short-term easy solutions over better long-term decisions. I saved up for a year to buy my Cadillac; all my co-workers thought I was nuts not to just go get a loan. These same people would often commit to unrealistic goals as long as they don’t have to do anything right now.
Whiskey Tango, the club, decided they don’t want to purchase our Elvis picture. Dang. During the visit, I heard overheard musicians griping about the pay, that there are no places left in town where a band can earn a living playing cover tunes. Actually, the problem is not the clubs. They are paying exactly what the musicians are worth. I’ve heard them. You want to play Eagles, you take your lumps. Also, Bryne called. He is leaving town next week, heading for Massachusetts.
Bryne believes there is such a thing as the world’s top guitarist. Now be nice, that is a lifestyle, too. Put it to the test, the next time you get wind of a best drummer or bassist contest, guaranteed you are reading a guitar magazine. You see, to guitarists, Clapton and Hendrix live on Mt. Olympus surrounded by minions of lesser but still god-like lead players, all sporting identical face-squints as they bend a poignant note near the octave marker. Got a visual on that? You should. It’s been around since 1953, at least.
*within five years, hacking devolved from using cell phones to e-mail. All the bad guys want now is your e-mail because it is so easily hacked. It has always been policy on my system to never send anything sensitive by e-mail, so hacking is not a problem here.
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