How Republicans do math

On By daevadIn WTF?

So my local congressional representative, one Vern Buchanan, sent an email out to constituents asking how they feel about Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee.  After responding, this is the summary I was sent of the responses to date.  This image is a screen grab and has not been edited in any way.

Vern Buchanan SCOTUS Poll Results

This math must have been done by the same folks who figured out the tax cut that helped al the wealthy, screwed the average person, and is driving the deficit up by over a trillion dollars.  Have I mentioned lately that Buchanan loves to submit a balanced budget amendment every year?  Who does he think he is fooling?

Buchanan needs to go.  We need a new representative.

The Sad State of Macintosh Hardware

On By daevadIn Musings, Tech News

I originally sent this to a good friend who, like me, is a Mac user.  Then I sent this to Tim Cook at Apple.  And I have decided to post it here as well…  

If you are a Mac user, you should definitely read the linked commentary.

Great commentary by a long-time Mac software developer:
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Additional thoughts:
A couple weeks ago, when the last macOS software update left my computer (and many, many others) unbootable and I wasn’t sure at first if something major had died hardware-wise, as I pondered possible replacement scenarios I came to the conclusion that my machine dying might be a long-term blessing by almost forcing me to ditch Apple hardware.  I could have gone the Hackintosh route (using off-the-shelf hardware) or could have just switched to Linux (with a huge range of options for hardware).  I know such a switch is not the right thing for everyone, I don’t need to use Adobe CC for instance, but I feel Apple is so focused on squeezing money out of music streaming and watch sales, they have forgotten how they got to where they are.  I no longer feel any loyalty to them as I see they have little if any interest in their computer customers.
I love my Mac Pro, though it has a limitation or two, and I am glad it is working well again.  But I have it set up to dual-boot with Ubuntu Linux, keep that software up to date daily, and continue to explore the software that is available for that platform.  If something happens, I will be ready to walk away for good.

Your EPA at work

On By daevadIn In the news, Washington Whirlwind

5 years after an explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas killed 15 and injured 150, and just 2 days after another chemical plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas injured 22, criminal Scott Pruitt’s EPA administration has decided to roll back safety rule changes put in place as a result of the West Explosion.

West, Texas Mayor Tommy Muska told the Austin American-Statesman, “With all due respect to Scott Pruitt, he’s never lost 15 firefighter friends.  I’m as pro-business as anyone, but some things are way, way, way more important than too much regulation, and that includes the safety of these chemical plants.”

Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump do not care.  They don’t care how many people are killed or injured in industrial accidents.  As long as they can cut regulations, especially anything done during the Obama administration, they are happy.  And their donors are happy.