You know how some folk can be, overzealous about rules when they are in charge of something..

Well, I found myself in a Facebook group which outlaws 'likes' !

I'm amazed !

------------------------
Going back to Jan 22, I'll have to waste my time removing members that can't loose their social addiction to use the LIKE and emoji buttons. Viewing this page will still be available, but posting and comments options will cease.

I imagine that some new and current members will still disregard the rule. For our current members, nothing will change. Our 1301 membership will probably drop 90%. This will result in a more streamlined.
------------------------

I really want to ask why, but I fear I'd be banned from the group !

I did suggest a way to automate the process, so I might get banned for trying to be helpful !

I don't know if its just me, but today I notice that Facebooks notification list has shrunk considerably and only displays the last 61 items, I wonder why ?

The only thing I've done differently in the last 24 hours was report two posts for harassment..

Not against me, but someone else !

Facebook responded back pretty quickly within a few hours, rather than weeks, but in neither case did they agree with my view that posting pictures of someone's underwear with derogatory comments was harassment.

So, maybe if you complain, they limit your notification list so you can't see so much to complain about..

Or it was just coincidence and they just happened to shorten everyone's notification list..

So that is why strangers want to send me videos/etc. on WhatsApp then !

Not that I could ever get it to install mind you!

Related links:

https://dailymail.co.uk/news/...

----------------
Jeff Bezos' cell phone was hacked in 2018 after he received a malicious WhatsApp message from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, months before the National Enquirer exposed his affair, it has been claimed.

The Amazon billionaire received a video file containing malicious code from Mohammed Bin Salman's personal phone number, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

According to forensic examination of the phone afterwards, the message was sent on May 1, 2018. Within hours, a large amount of data from Bezos' phone was extracted. There is no detail of what kind of data was taken.
-----------

https://indiatoday.in/technology/...

-----------------------
https://dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech...

However, there does not appear to be any reports of the vulnerability being actively exploited in the wild.
-----------------------

Apart from the one above maybe..

So, be careful out there !

I thought this bit of history might interest some.

https://cryptomuseum.com/covert/...

So, better check Grandma's typewriter..

So, a year of Tinder Gold, my review:

------
No dates.
------

End of review.

Well, actually it did provide a bit of useful information that can hopefully enable me to get a date in the future, but in essence, it wasn't particularly any good at getting me an actual date, let alone a relationship !

In case you are wondering, what great secrets did I discover:

Geographical boundaries effect dating, eg. no one wants to date you on another island..

Transport is vital.

Athletic body and strength is vital.
(Minimum weight lift 100 lb I suspect..)

Disposable income is vital.

No debt is helpful..

Financial assets are helpful..

You know how one group always hates other groups.

Cyclists hate car drivers.

Car drivers hate cyclists..

2 wheeled cyclists hate those with 3 wheels..

Well today I saw an argument spill forth from boat owners, those with one hull hating those with two !

hyoo-mäns !

Related link:

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/que...

FX [ Swears.. ]

AMD graphics card, headless Windows 10, latest W10 update, now only 640 x 480 resolution available !

Time to get and try:

> HDMI Dummy Plug,Headless Ghost,
> Display Emulator

Be warned !

I love tables:

Related link:

https://hackaday.com/2020/01/...

I was reading this:

https://bbc.co.uk/news/...
> A chatbot pulled me out of a 'really dark place'

Oh that sounds interesting I thought.

Plus I thought, what idiot can be influenced by what an AI says..

Then I thought, oh I wonder if this will be an AI I can legally swear at without getting into trouble..

So off I go to find it..

So, first I land here:

https://www.vivibot.org

Ok, so I don't have Apple or Google Play to play with, I wonder what GRYT Health is, lets click on it..

https://web.grytapp.com

Well, that doesn't really tell me a hell of a lot what gryp , oh wait, gryt means..

Now if I really was in a dark place, could I think be bothered to fill out all the various create account details in the first place..

Then it takes me to where I can click on the chatbot.

Only it won't let me chat until email verification has been done..

No problem, I used a real email address, so it should be with me in a few seconds right..

A few seconds pass..

A few minutes pass..

A few hours pass..

Now I'm depressed from bloody waiting !

This is not how to design a system designed to help people who feel sad..

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/fo...

I thought it worth repeating the wisdom I spotted there:

---------------------
"That's what the Test Track at Velim is for"....methinks that modern managers, project managers and beancounters need reminding of this.

My experience lately is that when folk of their ilk hear 'apply all the edge cases', what they hear is 'blahhhhh blahhhhh blahhhhhh un-necessary time and cost' and promptly chop those 'edge-ish' bits out of the test and/or approvals plan.
I'm lucky enough to have had a diverse and very enjoyable career testing things for a living, in an organisation where you were *expected* to try and break the thing you were working on (within sensible limits).... the rational being that if it went wrong in-service, it would be seriously inconvenient for users, if not downright Goddamn dangerous (Think national-scale 'phone infrastructure - no 112/911 service=big problems!).

We were well paid to have a negative attitude towards 'Product Whatwever' in those days - actually a realistic attitude from a Systems point of view - which was endorsed by the C-Suite as necessary for product quality. The attitude was that if Joe Public doesn't have an issue then we've done the job right.

Most of the time, we would end up fixing an issue, even the 'Very Low Probability, Medium Impact' ones on the (proven!) assumption that if Mr. Sod can stuff it up, he will.

With this modern 'continuous delivery' way of working, I find the 'edge' cases get ignored as a fix is seen as 'only a software update away' - no matter that the poor sap trying to use the thing has to wait weeks/months/forever for a fix.
Nobody wants to take the time and trouble to create a robust product any more, and it's hard to take pride in your work (About 50% of my output at the moment is crap, because 'timescales' and workload).

The world is increasingly run/managed by people who have absolutely no idea of the technicalities and complexity of modern systems.

Here endeth this rant.
---------------------

I can't figure out if its google that is infected, or this website, or my machine.. (Only tested it on 2 PC's so far.)

Any pointers welcomed !

Appears for sure in MS Edge browser and Internet Explorer. (So make sure you have antivirus running/etc. or a sandbox machine/etc.)

I think the problem is with google...

Go to:

https://www.google.co.uk

Search for:

diamondestates.co.uk/property/wonderful-investment-opportunity-spacious-freehold-4-bedroom-3-reception-victorian-house/

Click on 'images'

Then click on the first picture.

Then click on the preview/etc. pane on the right in google, which takes you to the diamondestates website

Then click on the right arrow in the picture on the diamondestates website to go to the next picture, and bingo a popup !

Related URL's it takes you to include:

d2izun4ii6k9up.cloudfront.net/lendsolyanka/index.html

9rnndpb8.reactionpcservice.fun/prelandersysdefold_alert__1574952573/
index.html

deloplen.com/afu.php

https://joesandbox.com/analysis/...
> Analysis Report deloplen.com/afu.php

Useful input welcomed, and if anyone wants to inform the infected site they have an infection, please feel free to do so !

Last few times when I've tried to do that, people haven't understood me very well, and nowadays I'd worry they would think I had planted it, when I just want to tell them they have an infection !

I suspect its the diamondestates website, but if you go their directly, the infection doesn't popup, it only appears to happen if you go via google.

You know how 1/3 of us die from cancer..

It's lottery time !

Is that lump in my testicle cancer or not ?

Has it spread ?

Will I die before I finish typing this out..

Who knows !

I can't die yet, I haven't finished my App's !

I'll keep you updated.

Obviously, if I don't, I died..

Trying to send email to someone who is using Office365 for their email hosting.

Outgoing email server IP address is blocked..

Joyful !

Had to phone up the company and tell them, obviously they wouldn't know if anyone else couldn't email them unless they too phoned and asked how come they aren't answering their emails !

I wonder how many customers they are losing because of it !

The surgery appears to be a success !

When you are too poor to afford proper medical care, you have to DIY..

I got myself one of those USB microscopes so I could examine the site in more detail. (Hard to reach and see as it was on my bottom !)

Anyhow, I successfully cut out the lump myself, didn't bleed to death in the process, and it hasn't grown back after several months, so I call that a success !

The wound site is now healed.

Didn't use painkillers, so it hurt a bit..

Note, if you are going to include an auto-update feature, make sure it works..

Related link:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/...

I had to go and download the latest client and update manually to fix it.

I guess you just can't get the staff these days..

Ok this is getting silly now.

Since when did folk forget how to pack stuff for postage ?

It started off with parcels poorly packaged, not enough bubble wrap, and arriving with damaged items inside.

Today, the latest example beats the rest.

A cardboard box with the item inside, lose, no packing..

The outside of the cardboard, covered in bubble wrap !

No folk, the bubble wrap goes inside the box around the item you are sending..

And use more than one layer of the stuff !!!

Like 5 to 10 layers kind of thing..

So, finally after a very long time, I get a new keyboard (Ok, the previous one is 35 years old..), so lets see how technology has progressed in that time shall we..

First off, I'll need to plug it in..

Mm.. no spare USB ports..

No problem, I'll just go on Ebay, and buy some more !

They are expensive aren't they..

No problem, I'll buy this older cheap one..

When it arrives, I find out its wired up differently to what I need, so..

Rewire it, which takes ages of course.

Not having the best soldering iron, or anything really to hold the work with (Where did that rusty thing with lots of clasps go I had earlier!) and the only piece of wire I could easily find is covered in black goo, oh well, we can clean that off our hands afterwards..

Now, to plug in the new USB ports, I have to take out half of the inside of my PC..

So... that takes a while.

I seemed to have disturbed something, since now it wont' boot and complains of floppy drive error..

As a temp fix I unplug the floppy drive and disable it in the BIOS.

Now it boots..

Lets install the driver/etc.

Download it.

Install it.

Reboot.

Run application.

Nothing happens..

Uninstall it.

Antivirus software pops up, is unhappy about a file in the driver !

Google about it..

Install an earlier version of the software.

Reboot.

Run application, it works !

Adjust colours from pulsating make you seasick colour scheme to solid damp colour.

Reboot to see if colour sticks..

It does !

Place keyboard on desk in just the right place..

It rocks..

No I mean, it moves about, from front to back !

Why is it not flat !!!

Blu-tak time..

Actually, I forgot to mention I need blu-tak anyhow, to keep the two halves together, since it hasn't got a locking mechanism to hold the numberpad to it..

It's a 80/20 keyboard, or I should say, a 20/80..

So, what else do I not so much like about it..

Well, the font is too small !

It's way smaller than my previous keyboard and I really need to put my glasses on to read it...

Unlike my previous one, which was designed for old folk with less than perfect eyesight !

And the cable..

It comes out the back, in the middle..

Not the back and to a side..

And it leaks light everywhere !

It needs a skirt / cover around the keys..
(3D printer time.. which could also help hold the numberpad in place at the same time !)

Keys are rated for what, 50 million clicks or something, so should last me till I die..

Assuming something in it doesn't fail before then..

I guess no one does replacement key caps for it with a bigger font then..

So, the perfect keyboard still hasn't been invented yet !

Maybe in a few years I might design my own then..

Oh the keyboard, its an Asus ROG Claymore:

A couple more issues..

The capslock key is too wide..

The enter key is too wide..

So, how does it feel / sound compared to the old IBM Model M I used before..

It feels newer..

Snappier..

Crisper sound.

Maybe not so loud.

Though I'm pretty sure, everyone complains about blue keys being loud. :-)

It should be a little kinder on my fingers, need a little less pressure too.

And I now have this huge space on the right for the mouse to play !

(I got a new mouse recently too !)

EOF

Modern technology is so reliable..

I used to have a 30 year old CRT colour monitor, tube eventually wore out..

Got a brand new LED monitor, less than 3 years old, picture goes..

At least these days there is YouTube to try and fix your own TV..

When you are trying to buy something on Ebay and the seller doesn't listen to your communication for a picture of the actual product they are selling, because its really important for you to get the right model !

And of course, in their description they don't mention the model number..

Creating a new app, so, question:

Should the default option be "auto-update turned off" as to follow the ethos of user control is King, or should it be turned on in the beginning so as to help rapidly build userbase numbers ?

If so, at what point do you change the default to off ?

10,000 users ?

100,000 users ?

1 Million ?

100 Million ?

Solution that worked for me over white screen issue with Origin:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/...

------------
These steps worked for me after trying everything else:

Exit Origin and kill OriginWebHelperService in Task Manager
Delete file openglblacklist.json from C:\Program Files(x86)\Origin\platforms folder

Completely clear these folders:
C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\origin\origin\cache\QtWebEngine\Default\Cache\ and <C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\origin\Web Cache\

Delete all folders except LocalContent from C:\ProgramData\Origin\

Delete file OriginThinSetupInternal.exe from C:\Program Files(x86)\Origin\
Restart Origin
-----------

I'll just leave the PC like it is and come back to it later..

FX [ Time Passes . . . ]

Damn it doesn't work !

Suddenly I can't mouse click..

Reboot.

Mouse click still doesn't work.

Unplug mouse, replug mouse.

Still doesn't work.

FX [ Goes to box with 15 spare mice in it.. ]

New backup mouse, works fine.

But I liked the shape of the old mouse !

And so hard to find second hand these days too..

Well, at least it works.

First time a mouse has died like that, and unlike most mice I have, this one I had from new less than 3 years old !

When I get a moment, I'll try the other 14 mice to see if any of them feel better..

See, I new there was a good reason why I got 16 second hand mice off Ebay as a job lot for peanuts. :-)

Ah ha !

I figured out a hook !

Now all I have to do is create the software to take advantage of it..

And hope that no one else notices, or that the company I'm making use of their lack of a specific feature, doesn't suddenly implement said feature and make my hook redundant..

Baring in mind for the last decade+ they have made their feature worse, I don't think there is a great chance of them suddenly making it better !

Sadly I can't mention it, or everyone else will be rushing around implementing the idea before me..

I'll be back as they say. :-)

Suffice to say, the main feature of my hook is it saves time, and we all know that is the most valuable commodity out there !

In case anyone is wondering, yes it will be freeware.

Finally after like a decade plus, I'm out of debt !

Hurray !!!

Now instead of paying money for nothing, I can save up for my retirement . . .

You know when you look at software and think, I can do better than that !

Well, now with a 3D printer, no longer do you have to look at something and think, I wish I could build a better one of those, because now you can !

Now I just have to figure out, which thing I want to make a better one of first...

Once I read up on the complicated process of, how to level your print bed..

<-- New to 3D printing.

So, what would you like to see a better version of something made, and in what way would your version be an improvement ?

Facebook...

Notification list..

Oh look, 5,000 notifications..

No problem, I'll just read the interesting looking ones and ignore the rest.

Lets scroll shall we..

And, go and visit one.

And go back to the notification list..

And have to start all the way from the beginning again, instead of where we left off !!!

WTF, who designs this shit !

Don't be like Facebook..

I know you can right click and open in new tab, but then that screws with the read / unread flags, and its just messy, why not make it work right in the first place.

I'll just use the 'search' option in a Facebook group to find what I want..

Search for "wound"

Shows me "wind" results..

If I'd wanted "wind", I'd have typed bloody "wind" !

I want "wound" you bastard !

Damn too smart for its own good software.

How do you recharge and turn on an ancient computing device ?

Related link:

https://thesun.co.uk/news/9886625/...

Me again..

Yet another problem, ho ho ho.. :-)

Got myself some new Samsung EVO 32Gb microSDHC UH-1 cards.

But this Raspberry PI 3B+ doesn't boot with them..

I just get a blank screen and nothing else.

Take the SD card out and bung in the old card, it works fine..

So..

What's up ?

Googling a bit so far I find others with the same problem, but no answers..

Someone suggested it could be the PSU.

As the old SD card is 8Gb and the newer one 32Gb, I guess it could need a lot more power..

After all, both PSU's are cheap ones..

So, buy a Raspberry PI official PSU and then if its still a blank screen come back here.. ?

Meanwhile, what else could it be ?

SD card works fine in PC via an adapter..

FX [ Times Passes . . . ]

Well, got it working now !

Not that google was any help on the matter !

What I did was:

Put the micro SD card into the larger SD adapter, plugged that into my old SD to USB adapter.

Then formatted the SD card.

Then wrote the Raspberry Pi OS image to the card.

That worked !

Now..

Why did it work ?

Was it because I formatted the card ?

Was it because I put it in the SD card adapter before putting it in the USB adapter ?

Was it both ?

A new $3 micro SD card reading USB adapter is on its way for me to find out perhaps..

What a complete pain to get working !

And on one else was any use I had to figure out the solution myself !

End of RANT..

Eating junk food, it isn't like it can make you go blind and deaf..

Oh wait !

http://ladbible.com/news/...
>Teenager Goes Deaf And Blind As
> A Result Of Junk Food Diet

Related link:

https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...
> Nutritional optic neuropathy.

So, better take vitamin pills and eat your veg !

This has been a public health warning, please continue with your lives..