Friday Potpourri: 17 January 2025
As usual, I amuse myself
The first thing that amused me this week was this article from NYT. It’s about the security measures many media outlets are taking because of the overt and implied threats against media by the new fascist regime. They’re looking at things like only using Signal, switching to ProtonMail, and moving things out of the cloud and onto hard drives. What I’m chuckling about is that had they read my blog, they would have been prepared for all of this months ago! Below is the first of my multiple posts on the topic, in case you missed it the first time.
Government Surveillance is Going to Get Worse
Since the Patriot Act, the government has been increasing surveillance on Americans, and you can expect this to end up turbocharged under the new regime. A lot of people have thought, “It doesn’t affect me, I don’t do anything wrong, so what do I care?”
I’m hoping that the MSM brings back fax machines1.
I have been enjoying the Zuck memes over on Twitter.
Yes, I’ve heard you. All of you who have contacted me on the issue (including that very nice card which came via snail mail) of Twitter. Y’all think I should leave. First, I have a very solid ad blocker program, so Elmo makes no money on me. Second, there are a number of financial sources I follow who refuse to move to Bluesky, and I need that information2, and most importantly, I have saved several hundred 10 - 15 second dog and cat videos that dissolve me into gales of laughter no matter how many times I watch them, and there is no way to export them. I haven’t posted in more than a year, and my account is locked down. Plus, if you give up your Twitter account, anyone can use your screen name, and I don’t want anyone using mine, which dates back 16 years.
Late to the party, I have discovered TubiTV. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that when I’m not working, researching, undertaking political action, or spending time with my husband and dogs, I am a vidiot, and currently struggling with the emotional upheaval caused by the price increase of YouTubeTV. But it turns out that Tubi solves all but one of my television problems. It’s completely free, you can watch it on the big screen TV, on a computer, or if you have young eyes, a cell phone. They claim to have over 275,000 movies and tv shows3. They have a lot of things that are either not streaming anywhere else (including indie films) or that one must pay for on the other platforms.
Whether you love classic movies (from back when they were black and white and dependent on plot and dialogue) or off the beaten track sci-fi, art house films, or even episodes of the Ed Sullivan Show…it’s all there, in English and Español. There is something for everybody, except those people who never watch movies or tv.
The last thing that amused me this week was an article about a “shortage” of Americans who are 18 years old. It turns out that there are many political ramifications, and I’ll be writing about them because they actually impact all of us. But a shortage of 18-year-olds? Not 19-year-olds, not 17-year-olds - ONLY 18-year-olds. I found that funny4.
Not funny, but….I received a number of emails asking who Neville Chamberlain was, after I mentioned him a few days ago. So —
My husband has picked a great photo for tee shirts, and insists we include “peace in our time” as the tag line before we make them and send them out to the appropriate members of the House and Senate5.
NO ONE agrees with me. NOW. But just you wait…
I am a financial idiot, I don’t understand half of what they write, but I keep trying to learn. In 2024 I learned “wide moat” and “tax loss harvesting”. In 2025 I want to learn “P/E ratio”. See, a complete financial idiot, which is why I stay in my lanes.
I believe them!
Don’t blame me, I inherited my father’s sick sense of humor intact, genetically. It was the sort of thing he would laugh at, so there you have it.
I love family projects!
Whatever keeps you smiling is worth the time. I spend several hours every week on You Tube watching old comedians doing their shtick. I turn off the foul mouthed current crop. My latest find is Modi: a very funny guy.