Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Last day of a 3 day holiday here. Burned some calories at the gym and immediately put them back on with fried chicken and beer.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Google and Mastercard Cut a Secret Ad Deal to Track Retail Sales
“Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Mastercard Inc. brokered a business partnership during about four years of negotiations, according to four people with knowledge of the deal, three of whom worked on it directly. The alliance gave Google an unprecedented asset for measuring retail spending, part of the search giant’s strategy to fortify its primary business against onslaughts from Amazon.com Inc. and others.
But the deal, which has not been previously reported, could raise broader privacy concerns about how much consumer data technology companies like Google quietly absorb.”
Just how far from, “Don’t be evil” can Google stray?

You’re about to get even more from your Office 365 Home or Personal subscription!
– Unlimited device installs and be signed in to 5 of those at any one time.
– 6 licenses (users) up from 5

98.6 Degrees Is A Normal Body Temperature, Right? Not Quite
“Forget everything you know about normal body temperature and fever, starting with 98.6. That’s an antiquated number based on a flawed study from 1868 (yes, 150 years ago). The facts about fever are a lot more complicated.”
Interesting!

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

RIP John McCain
Thank you for your service.
His final message to the country is here.

Not your father’s Microsoft? Damn straight it isn’t
Paul (Don’t call me bro) Thurrott goes after the press fawning over Microsoft. Microsoft is a shadow of its former self and the blame lies at the leadership level. IMHO, in the not to distant future Microsoft may be irrelevant.

Tarboro child punished for calling teacher ‘ma’am’
Though I don’t always succeed I strive to be a Southern Gentleman. I say “ma’am” to every woman regardless of age. In the South that’s how we roll. My mother taught me to treat every woman as a lady until they prove otherwise. This woman is clearly not lady and is unworthy of respect. IMHO she has no business in a classroom.

Don’t Get It Twisted: ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ Can Be Anyone’s Protest Song
“I wanted to write an anthem,” the now 63-year-old Snider says. “I’m from the Alice Cooper school of ‘School’s Out,’ ‘I’m Eighteen,’ you know? And Alice was very big on these anthemic songs. So I wanted to write an anthem for the audience to raise their fists in the air in righteous anger.”
♫ You’re all worthless and weak ♫

What Are Kissing Bugs? Chagas Disease-Causing Insects Infected 300,000 In US
“The bug gets its name because it typically bites human beings on their faces. It then proceeds to defecate on the open wound, releasing the harmful parasites along with it. When a person scratches at the open wound afterward, he or she unknowingly pushes the parasites into the open wound and eventually into the body.”
Naaaaassss-Tee

No healthy level of alcohol consumption, says major study
Best quote of the article:
“Given the pleasure presumably associated with moderate drinking, claiming there is no ‘safe’ level does not seem an argument for abstention,” he said. “There is no safe level of driving, but government do not recommend that people avoid driving. Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna crack open a cold one.

The Creepy Line Trailer
“An eye-opening documentary, The Creepy Line reveals the stunning degree to which society is manipulated by Google and Facebook and blows the lid off the remarkably subtle – hence powerful – manner in which they do it.”