@jlariviere

Sharing one of my favorite quotes again: "Perhaps I will get a job." "A job!? I have sent you to the finest schools in Europe, you do not know how to do anything!" "Then perhaps I will run for Congress!"

The Indian chief said, "only the white man would cut the bottom of a blanket off, sew it onto the top of the blanket, and claim he had a longer blanket." #IHateDST

By the way, Happy Pi Day :-)

Realized it's Feb 3. Didn't watch #GroundhogDay. There's too much going on in real life and it feels like #GroundhogDay anyway.

If you still need a booster after being fully vaxxed… and still need to get tested after being fully vaxxed… and still need to wear a mask after being fully vaxxed… and still get hospitalized after being fully vaxxed, it’s probably time that you admit that you’ve been conned. https://twitter.com/ErrolWebber/status/1477873923094048775?t=yojwn_Qec5bM6ngWdHsBeA&s=19

On this day, I celebrate Christmas. I hope you all have a great day. There is a reason for, and if you don't know about it, start by reading. Here's one place to start. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202&version=NASB1995

another good video: https://odysee.com/@BNN:6/Meet-The-Doctor-Spearheading-The-Second-Nuremberg-Trials:e?r=AWtLWwHVGKqHNunLds4ntRiFKhXfA7Xj&t=79

a pilot's experience https://odysee.com/@BNN:6/%27Like-a-bomb-went-off-in-my-head%27%2C-Pilot%27s-career-ends-after-horrific-symptoms-following-Pfizer-shot:9?r=AWtLWwHVGKqHNunLds4ntRiFKhXfA7Xj&lid=watchlater

If you're getting any news or videos from YouTube, you're being lied to. Be careful to think through what you're being told to. This is an important video to watch. https://odysee.com/@Doctors_Speak_Out:8/cv19-injections-will-cause-massive-death-dr.-elizabeth-eads:5?r=AWtLWwHVGKqHNunLds4ntRiFKhXfA7Xj

2021-10-12 Daily photo from APOD Sometimes, I'm a wannabe astronomy nut. Especially after looking at some of the photos on the Astronomy Picture Of the Day site. They were doing blogging very early on (their early posts are in June of 1995). Were many of you who are reading this born then? Sorry, older grouchy guy has to ask. The lead image in this post is one such wonderful (to me) photos. The APOD staff always provide some interesting and informative descriptions. This particular photo captured a meteor by accident. While taking a long exposure photo of the night sky, the photographer captured the fireball of a meteor when it was visible for only 2 seconds. Serendipity perhaps, but it is pretty cool. For the latest, visit http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

random word prompt writings On one of my social networks, one person shared a writing practice, taking five random words and writing about them. I thought this was an interesting idea, and decided to try it. https://randomwordgenerator.com/ gave me: stable bean relative regulation have Stable Stable can have different meanings, depending on the context. Stable can be a noun, a building with livestock inside (or it can be different, love C. S. Lewis' The Last Battle!), or it can refer to a lack of fluctuation and change. Life has not been stable recently, particularly due to one of these other random words. However, things can be more stable depending on what we focus on. I'm a Christian, and when we focus on Jesus, he is always stable - the doesn't change - and he'll support us even though life isn't. Bean Beans & Rice. Food staple for many including myself sometimes. Fried, baked, or otherwise prepared, I enjoy them all. This week I'll be heating up a can of chili. It'll be particularly good considering the rain here today :-) Although I could cook some rice, I'll probably have this can of chili with some bread and salad on the side. Hmm... They say you shouldn't go shopping while hungry, maybe don't write about food while hungry? Relative We all have family who are relatives, and some that say something is relative. If someone says a statement is relative, it could almost be lazy - in that it does not allow for discussion of why they are taking that position. Then there are those who when hearing the word "relative" will think of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. I'll say since I have to finish this post - relatively - soon, I'm just going to stop here. Regulation GRRRRRR. Regulation is supposed to be help guide and protect people. Too often it is a source if oppression, lately especially some new regulations have proven harmful, both to individuals and to society at large. Human nature also tends to ignore helpful regulation. How many people do you know who ignore speed limits? I am passed by hundreds every day. They drive dangerously fast for the conditions, follow each other too closely to stop safely, and drive with distractions. Have To have. Possessions can often become a major challenge in life. We value what we possess to much. Many do not have what they need while others have an abundance. This is not a criticism of people having things. What is not good is hurting others in the pursuit of having things. Another things that comes to mind with a related topic is the misconception that some people have (har har har) is that they do not possess what they think they do. They have "purchased" books, music, movies, from electronic stores. Such stores have decided to kill off the particular product that they previously sold, making it no longer available. However, it is easier to "have" physical objects. The irony of putting this in an electronic form. So, what do you think? Like writing up thoughts on random words? Got a topic you want me to wax not-very-poetic about? Let me know.

selling on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/255194696564 https://www.ebay.com/itm/255194642618

different context... from The Princess Bride - "You be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted."

I applaud this young lady for standing up for her principles! https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/dutch-miss-world-finalist-steps-down-due-to-covid-shot-requirement/?utm_source=gab

for some encouragement: https://read.cash/@Nicklender/he-died-to-save-mankind-from-sin-a706cb83

quote for the day The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair. Douglas Adams

Nothing turned a perfectly normal healthy individual into a great political or military leader better than irreversible brain damage. Douglas Adams #quote

This was a nice read about passive income https://read.cash/@nalyn/why-passive-income-is-important-3b3bdc33

Woman’s Obituary Blames COVID Vaccine for Her Death https://flote.app/post/8ca3d9e1-9bd3-47fb-b0d9-d647d631ba3c

Messaging options Ever notice that there are a whole ton of messaging options, and more keep coming out? I have at least seven different messaging platforms installed on my phone. Since different people have their own preferred platform, sometimes we have to use multiple ones, or sometimes different ones for different purposes. How many of these have you heard of: Threema https://threema.ch/en/ Signal https://www.signal.org/ Telegram https://telegram.org/ Delta Chat https://delta.chat/en/ Briar https://briarproject.org/ Keybase https://keybase.io/ Google Messenger https://messages.google.com/ Google Voice https://voice.google.com/ Google Duo https://duo.google.com/ Hangouts https://hangouts.google.com/ Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ Google Chat http://chat.google.com/ Beeper https://www.beeperhq.com/ Session https://getsession.org/ Facebook Messenger WhatsApp https://www.whatsapp.com/ Skype https://www.skype.com/en/ Teams https://teams.microsoft.com/ Yammer iMessage https://support.apple.com/messages FaceTime https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380 WeChat https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380 SMS / MMS / RCS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services "Don't Bother Me" http://www.pursuitofsilence.com/ "Whatever is there" I have a few personal opinions about how we got here. #rant alert **A general problem:** There have been many "standards" over the years. They work great until some company comes up with a different idea and makes their own "standard". Choice. Sometimes that can be both a good thing and a bad thing. One one hand, a savvy consumer can make good choices. On the other hand, it can be overwhelming. **Google's problem:** Google's problem is that they keep changing things. Why they don't just call their service Google Messenger and STAY WITH THE ONE APP; just update it or roll out whatever changes are actually necessary. They have a beta test mechanism, so they should just use that to test out new ideas. They keep rolling out new platforms and killing off their old platforms. And again. And again. Or they try something slightly different when they don't need to. Sometimes they roll parts of their old platform into a new platform, but still require the user to sign up on a different page and install a different app. Grand Central. Google Cloud Messaging. Google Talk. Hangouts. Allo. YouTube Messages. Together. And those are just a few of the ones listed on the Killed by Google page https://killedbygoogle.com/ that are of a messaging nature that have been shut down. Google has plenty of other products & services that could be considered on the watch list. The Android platform is the biggest in the world. It is a pity Google gives it a bad name by killing off their own products. **Microsoft's problem:** Microsoft keeps focusing on solutions for businesses, and then trying something for consumers because someone else came up with an idea that ended up being popular. They often end up being too late to really make a difference. Like Google, Microsoft has had a number of different options over the years. Remember MSN? Windows Live Messenger? Are many of you using Skype daily? Microsoft has moved on to Teams in business environments. And while it is powerful, I know many individuals who are barely scratching the surface with what it can do. **Apple's problem:** Apple's problem is they have to have their own individual systems that they keep separate from everybody else, often refusing to play nice with anybody else. They often give inaccurate impressions regarding their security. You do not manage your own encryption, so even if they say "we cannot read your messages", it would be more accurate to say they are choosing to say publicly that they currently are choosing to not do so, not that they cannot from a technical standpoint. Their closed monopolistic ecosystem is possibly a topic I'll address my opinions in a future post (for those who have not heard my rant in person). **A Solution?** I'm not going to go through all the rest in too great detail. WeChat (possible Chinese government controlled), What'sApp / Facebook Messenger (FB owned & controlled. 'nough said?), others in the above list are not widely enough adopted. There's too many options to go through each in depth in a single post. Not to mention some things have changed from when I started drafting this post. **What am I using?** I use Threema. It is end to end encrypted, has good security, well designed app, and allows me to manage my own security. It is actively being supported & developed, but not ruined by feature creep or restrictions. The non-technically inclined might consider it too complex to set up, but it is worth it. Less secure, Signal gets my SMS messages (which are not secure anyway), and Signal messages (secure end to end encrypted). The app itself is not as secure as I would like it to be, and it depends on your phone number as an identity, but I've been using it. Both of them are cross platform, and definitely worth moving from the insecure messaging applications.

The freedom of a country can only be measured by its respect for the rights of its citizens. Edward Snowden in Permanent Record

Preserving Freedom You may have heard the quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana). What has been forgotten? Here are some excerpts from a speech given by Ronald Reagan. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” "Those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course." "You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down - [up] man's old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism." "You and I have the ability and the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny." https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/time-choosing-speech-october-27-1964 https://youtu.be/_VBtCMTPveA?t=182 Say no to mandates. Say no to censorship. Share God's Love. Share Truth. #freedom