I'm staring to feel like a laggard on the technological front. First, Uncle Ken gets a super-duper phone and then Mr. Beagles gets a computer that listens to, and answers, his questions.
I don't know if such a machine would work for me. I have a habit of "thinking out loud," or as is known in many circles as talking to myself when I'm trying to solve problems or working on something. There is often a lot of muttering and it would be unsettling for the computer to say, "What are talking about, Monkey Boy?"
There are some aspects of these modern marvels that give me pause, which is why I have a piece of tape over the laptop's built-in camera. I'm not hip to most security fixes and I've read that cameras can be hijacked. There are about a dozen WiFi networks available in my apartment's location, which mean that my network is available to many potentially bad actors, if they can crack the security. So far, so good, but you can't be too careful.
One thing I don't like about those digital assistants is that it's all cloud based, and Mr. Beagles may be surprised at the amount of his user data that will be stored on Microsoft's servers. I don't doubt the security of those servers, but somehow government agencies have access to a lot of data without needing warrants, or so I've read. But that's just another aspect of these times, where you can't determine real threats from imagined ones, and I've been giving it too much thought already.
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Mr. Beagles' description of his failing computers reminded me of something. Were the cases ever opened up to check for dust buildup? Years ago a buddy of mine, one of those serious geek types, told me that you should open up the box once a year to blow out the dust. Airflow can be blocked, heatsinks can be clogged, and the components overheat and shut down. Once they are cleaned up everything runs cool and works fine. Canned air is your friend but it can be messy, something to be done outdoors if possible or use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the cruft as it is being blasted off with the air. I'm not saying this is the answer but it is a possibility.
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How about those Russians? Jeez, they are playing the US media like a violin and somehow Trump's approval rating is rising (fake news?) Newsweek recently.published a piece about the communications spying done by a couple of unnamed US allies in Europe and some White House staff were, indeed, talking with the Russkies. The truth is out there, but we may never know.
Another unpresidented (see what I did there?) move by the Trump regime is the recently announced rally in Florida this weekend. Rally? For what? Have any previous sitting presidents done such a thing? Sure, there have been plenty of speeches and convocations, but a rally is new to me. Considering the likelihood of protestors and counter demonstrators it's as if Trump is baiting his opposition into doing something stupid, thus justifying possibly draconian executive orders. Given his temperament, martial law could be on the table. Not likely but not impossible either, considering the congressional lack of backbone. So far, only the courts, media, and comedians are standing tall, but the people still seem divided We'll see, but I wouldn't want to be within a hundred miles of that rally. Heads will be busted, believe you me.
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Getting into late February and still no snow to speak of, with temperatures forecast to be in the high 50s the next few days. 2017 is starting off to be a lot weirder than last year, and last year was truly weird. Maybe the aliens will finally arrive to sort things out. Or Jesus, take your pick.
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