One year ago today: January 20, 2017, a typical day off.
Five years ago today: January 20, 2013, that crooked accountant look.
Nine years ago today: January 20, 2009, MIDI isn’t good enough.
Random years ago today: January 20, 2010, he still owes me $50.
I took the day off to read. I’m allowed that now, I looked at my old books on Qbasic, the programming language. Then I read up on the Tor browser to see why I couldn’t log on to hotmail, youTube, and Craigslist. It was Trump’s extension of warrantless searches and the attacks on net neutrality that got me looking again. I’ve always set up extra accounts on the Internet whenever something is about to change. It’s been an eye-opener, particularly learning the lengths which the people on the other side of the Internet are going to prevent anonymous browsing and communication.
There are some 1200 Tor browsers (it was intended to have 15,000) around the world and it seems the bad guys (Google, MicroSoft, Yahoo, Adobe) are trying to keep a database of those IP addresses. They are blocked by Craigslist it seems, remember this is all relatively new to me. While I’m cautious about things like posting personal info on-line, I don’t know that much about security other than encryption and e-mail.
So I’m learning how Tor is utilizing a system of “bridges”, but I’m not yet clear how it works. It seems to move addresses around or change them ahead of the database that blocks them. My comments show many people don’t know what the Tor browser looks like. This is it, but beware of the malware Rodeo browser that looks the same. Always read your header.
[Author’s note: for those, like myself, that are not part of the wired generation, this browser must be installed. It does not come “bundled” with your computer, like IE or Google. Go to www.torproject.org, download the installer (a small program) to your DOWNLOAD DIRECTORY. If it says unzip, then right-click and do that. Just like you would Yahoo, or Firefox (Mozilla). You install it on your computer, careful to uncheck everything that doesn’t make sense except install the shortcut icon on your desktop.
Then, when you have an Internet connection, double click on the shortcut and Tor will log itself on—most of the time. After the first time, it may automatically open an Internet connection if it sees one. You can then make Tor your default browser, but don’t use it for everything. Doing that will attract attention. Also, Tor is blocked by hotmail, craigslist, and most companies that insist on their right to snoop on you.
Be aware that Tor routes your traffic through five or so other servers, so it is slow and not the best for watching the videos of your choice. Instead, use Tor to download them anonymously. Sort of. Tor only hides your location, it does not encrypt and thus can't help those who are stupid enough to identify themselves in plain text.
For everyday browsing, use install and use ixquick.eu, the piggyback browser that Google hates. Make ixquick your default browser but remember you may have to keep doing that as Google and Microsoft will fight back. When using ixquick, remember to delete any default Google tab that appears when you open, and to unpin the Chrome icon from your task bar at the bottom. The reason is ixquick uses Google but strips away the cookies and tracking, and successfully sued Google in Europe for trying to stop them.
And while you are at it, check your password strength here. This is my result:
I’ve known about VPN, the virtual private networks, for some time but I don’t trust them because they must have enough information to ID you to collect their fees. (I probably won't bother with VPN until somebody makes a version I can download and install anonymously.) That’s hardly secure, though I have not tested if gift cards and such would work. None of these protect your transmissions if you are dumb enough to send personal data in clear text. I have one e-mail set aside for all that, for instance, despite specifically being told not to do so, Progressive insurance keeps sending me insurance offers in my own name. Fuck you, Progressive. I didn’t say you don’t have the right, all I’m saying is fuck you. Your rep told me the only thing my name would be used for was to enact my car insurance policy. So he lied.
Next, who remembers Milken, the junk bond trader of the 80s? I saw his name in a history book and I’ll take a look if he’s still around next time I get on-line. You want some background on the guy? Sure. His only crime was making too much money too fast. This always upsets the American establishment, who want their cut. First you should know what a junk bond is. Banks tend to lend money to corporations and established businesses who have a record of ability to pay. They buy the corporate bonds for cash, then resell these bonds at a higher interest rate to investors. The most conservative of these bonds are called “Blue Chip”, usually indicating the borrower has never missed a payment.
This leaves new businesses out of the loop. They need money as well, but don’t have credit histories. What brokers like Milken do is buy these startup bonds at a higher interest rate to compensate for the higher risk. The investors also make higher returns if the new business is successful. The big banks and brokerage firms don’t like this brand of competition. That’s who began calling them “junk” bonds. But the fact is, if it wasn’t for these bonds, you might not have MCI, Sprint, or even cable TV. These type of companies require huge investment to even start. They got it from junk bonds.
As long as Milken was up front about the risks, he did nothing wrong. Except make a lot of money. So, just like the Hunt Brothers, the establishment changed the law to make what he did illegal. I think he got six months or something. The problem occurred later when other brokers began bundling the junk bonds with high grade securities and not telling the buyers. I’m only a casual observer of these things, so don’t include much of this in your thesis.
NSA file storage facility.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Junk bonds are not to be confused with arbitrage trading, like that guy, Boesky? What was his name? Anyway, arbitrage is making money on the tiny fluctuations when markets like London and New York close at slightly different prices each day, or especially over long weekends. If you have enough money, those tidbits can really add up. I dislike the people who do it, however, because it smacks of insider trading. While it isn’t illegal, it is still best accomplished by people who do have inside knowledge or connections. They are taking advantage of resources not available to everybody, which makes it illegal in my eyes.
The one ray of hope is that Trump is finally draining the swamp. I get my political news direct from the National Enquirer. Says here Trump has a secret list. Why is it secret, Don? Just can the liberal bastards. I don’t know the names but my inkling says he’ll start with the bunch that tried to use the insider system to defeat his campaign, and that contrived Russian blarney. Next, find the most entrenched of the old boys and start firing from the top down. I doubt he can drain the whole swamp, it has been there just too many years. But he’ll do wonders if he merely concentrates of canning the worst of the lot.
And it is music to my ears that people are calling that liberal skritch Megyn Kelly the most hated woman in America. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving and annoying hag. I just do not like her and never did since the first time I saw her. That was the time she tried to out-troll the Trumpster.
ADDENDUM
Restaurants. They’re not just for food any more. I’m reading here how mega-chains have pretty much wiped out the coffee-shop diner as a way of life. I’ve lamented the loss because the franchises lack local character. But I’m a tiny minority there when, on average, every other person in the USA spends on nearly $2,500 per year EACH on everything from buffalo burgers to sushi. My bill for 2017 came to $818, with half of that due to travel. My biggest bill was $25 at Applebee’s on September 12 and I squawked about that. My worst month was also that September, due to getting the car on the road. It cost me $137 including $11.36 for a Winter Haven breakfast waiting for the DMV to open. (I was overcharged but didn’t notice until I got home.)
My monthly average for 2017 was $74.60. The books get a bit fuzzy on that number. My traditional system records coffee separately if I go out purposely for just coffee, as opposed to when I have coffee with a snack while on the road. My coffee total includes how I will actively seek out libraries that have coffee. I’ve long preferred restaurants to hauling cooking gear along on the road. Thus, the ‘dollar-a-day’ coffee account, if added to the tab, would bring my annual dining out bill to $1,150. Wow, I guess I am adding to the statistic.
On top of that, I curb my intake due to food additive concerns. Now I learn, years after it was called for, restaurants have become a bit of a factor on influencing the food supply. The damage is done, however. Just look how unattractive the campus women are these days, one in three has some kind of diet or food problem. When they eventually get around to proving and/or admitting it is due to pesticides, steroids, hormones, GMOs, and ever-cheaper cooking oils, remember this blog was on to it decades ago. Meanwhile, operations like Olive Garden rate nearly tops in dollars, apparently because the patrons falsely believe they are eating Italian food.
Another article says people don’t like making reservations any more. Only 6.1% do. That might be connected to concerns over the technology used, with consumers growing reluctant to use today’s phones for such a purpose—but not for other more risky activities. One area I beat the odds is calories. It says here the average restaurant meal has 670 of them, a stat I view with suspicion. Maybe they aren’t including the HFCS-laced drinks. I research most of my meals first and they average 380 calories.
And for historians to mull over, the restaurants I eat in most often are over 200 miles from here.
Last Laugh
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
