myklbiz

[myklbiz]

the economics of stupid fashion trends

1) A thing you like becomes fashionable.

2) Demand exceeds supply so much that the thing you like becomes difficult to find and much more expensive to buy.

3) Broad demand drives up the production, harvesting or importation of that thing, until the demand is exceeded.

4) The fashion will inevitably wane.

5) Then there will be a bounty of the thing, an oversupply while production ramps down and warehouses fill up.

6) Now you'll find every variety of the thing you like, at closeout prices.

Most of us are powerless to alter this cycle.  As with any tide, the best we can do is surf the waves.

[myklbiz]

QUESTION:

Why would anyone want to spoof (make a fake imitation of) my social media account?

ANSWER:

Usually, you (the spoofee) are not the target of the spoofer; spoofing (pretending to be) you is simply a means to an end. And that end is to find credulous suckers among your friends or elsewhere on the social network. How may they exploit the people who accept their friend requests? Here are a few possibilities:

• Create a profile with multiple "real" friends so it looks legitimate.

• Leverage a friend's trust of you to trick them into doing something foolish, such as...

• Sending "you" money because you need help,

• Sharing personal information with "you",

• Clicking a link to some external web site or "video" that "you" recommend, taking them beyond the relative safety of this social network, where malicious software may ultimately get installed on their computer or they are tricked into providing information they should not share with strangers.

As you can see, none of these cons or scams directly harm the spoofee, but may do minor or significant harm to their actual victims (who believe they are interacting with the real you).

This is why we warn our friends (and inform the social network) whenever we learn that someone (or some robot) is spoofing us.

[myklbiz]

Printers can make any 10 minute project take 3 hours.

Marco Arment

[myklbiz]

The thing about most home automation is...

These are labor saving devices which eliminate the need to get off my butt to perform some minor, uncomplicated and routine task. But I'm a middle aged human who already spends hours long stretches of time sitting on my butt, gazing into an electrified sheet of glass. There are already too many days when those small physical tasks are damn near the only reason I get off my butt at all. So, the more time and money and mental exertion I invest automating my life, the greater my need to contrive other opportunities to exercise and stretch and rest my eyes.

In other words, this is why I still draw my curtains by hand.

[myklbiz]

Before any major update to my operating system or critical app(s), I make a clone (a bootable duplicate) of the drive (exactly as it was before updating).

Cloning a large drive is slow, requires a spare drive of equal size, is inconvenient to my schedule, then sits on a shelf collecting dust until the next time I write a new duplicate over it. I almost never use it.

But, on the rare occasion that an updated app somehow trashes months of previous work still in progress, I am so grateful that I can restore the missing files from the clone. Click and drag, then everything is back as it was.

This is a very good feeling.

[myklbiz]

The internet is like a huge library. There are many shitty "books" in there, but countless gems as well. It's never been more important to intelligently filter what we give our time to.

[myklbiz]

In my travels, I search gas stations along my route using the Google Maps app, which shows the current price at (most of) those stations.

I do this so routinely that I forget many folks just pay the going rate wherever they stop, having no idea the price may be significantly cheaper just a couple miles down the road.

[myklbiz]

herd mentality

the recurring observation of herd mentality, seen in lightly moderated discussion groups:

1) One member of a Facebook Group* retweets occasional slides on a particular subject or theme. For example, low quality "memes" portraying irresponsible drinking.

2) Some other members indicate their amusement by favoriting (a.k.a. Like or React to) those posts, which encourages additional sharing on that topic.

3) A handful other members begin retweeting similar items.

4) That subject becomes notably commonplace in this discussion group.

5) Group members who find the subject uninteresting or distasteful stop checking in on this discussion, or actively quit the group.

6) For these reasons, the percentage of posts on this subject increase, just as other topics decrease.

7) Based on what they see in this group, the remaining active members believe this is a (or the) place to post on that particular topic; so, that's what they continue doing here. It may not occur to other members to post on other subjects.

8) The preceding effects (#3 - 7) increase, building on each other.

The end result can be "discussion" diminished to a remarkably shallow lowest common denominator. For example, this group becomes a feed of the stupidest and most retweeted “memes” about getting stupid drunk.

(* While I use Facebook in this example, the same phenomena can occur in discussion groups on any platform.)

[myklbiz]

There's a kind of optimism in writing an impossible to do list.

[myklbiz]

Good Judgement: Really, you should read the documentation on this one, before you jump in and change EVERYTHING.

The Deadline: [angrily tapping its foot] [cartoonish steam billowing out of ears]

[myklbiz]

We live in a world of networks within networks connected to other networks. Some networks are wireless, others are a web of cables spun of copper or glass; most are ultimately a combination of all three. Some networks are local, others wider, while a few are global. Most of these are connected to one or more of the others. Are you with me so far?? No surprise that most folks get confused by the distinctions and similarities between these all. How many people can explain the differences between ubiquitous WiFi, the internet, and mobile service on their "phone"?

[myklbiz]

progress:

It seems like most people have learned the mantra that we users of ad-supported services "are the product, not the customer".

room for improvement:

Lots of folks now use this understanding to "explain" every detail they hate about any given social media service.

[myklbiz]

As a consumer, any business that requires a permanent record of my face is a business unworthy of my patronage.

Any request for a photograph of me or a copy of my photo ID is automatically suspicious and will immediately harm my assessment of the organization requesting it. While a requirement for such things is an excellent reason to end my relationship with them.

You'll know these organizations when they ask you to verify your identity in these ways. Beware the (actual) IRS directing you to the controversial third-party service ID.me to verify your identity with facial recognition, though they've promised to reverse this policy.

[myklbiz]

I value the utility of intuition informed by careful thought.

[myklbiz]

For anyone who didn't read the memo...

Never give any information of any kind to anyone who calls (or texts) you.

No matter who they say they are.

I have never regretted sticking to this no-no-never policy.

[myklbiz]

What’s the first concert you ever attended?

(PSA)

Are you seeing posts on social media asking fairly bland or broad questions about your memories or personal preferences? Is the original post by a stranger or page you don't even follow? Is the post public, that is, readable by anybody (including data harvesting 'bots). Is the question similar to the generic "security questions" you might get asked elsewhere to verify your identity? Ask yourself, do you want to tell the entire world the answers to your own (potential or actual) security questions?

I get it that we humans like to talk about ourselves or share things that make us happy or special. But is a random post, from heaven knows who, really the place for that? I'm seeing a variety of friends blithely commenting on these posts lately, so it seemed time for a reminder that you really shouldn't.

It doesn't help that Facebook adds these post to your feed with about the same presentation as those that are actually from your friends. And Facebook won't stop these posts, because such boring questions don't violate their "community standards".So, it's up to you to be alert and protect your own privacy. And maybe remind the people in your life.

[myklbiz]

the old math

Between 250-300 years ago — before the Revolutionary War, using just pen and paper with a lot of math and geometry — a couple educated people spent years crunching the numbers until they "discovered" (mathematically proved) the existence of five points of equilibrium orbiting our sun in unison with the Earth, actual but unseen ‘artifacts’ of gravity, the Lagrange Points, including L2 (the second of these points) where the James Webb Space Telescope is being deployed.

I learned this yesterday. After hearing "L2" repeatedly mentioned in regards to the JWST, but never explained, I searched for and found this tidy explanation.

That a few number nerds, in the age of powdered wigs and sailing ships, took what little was then known about the orbit of planets and the nature of gravity, then just did the math and gradually worked this out, is an excellent example of how science and mathematics can "see" all manner of things which remain invisible to direct human perception.

So today, I give my belated thanks to Leonhard Euler and Joseph-Louis Lagrange (and any of their colleagues who history has forgotten) for doing this important work which will enable many more astronomical discoveries to be made.