csziggy
csziggy's JournalNew ad with Jeb Bush throws Crist under the bus
And boy does that make me feel better about Charlie Crist! I've been labeling Crist a Jeb toady because Crist continued the Bush doctrine when he succeeded Jeb in office. Even after Crist left the Republican Party and became an Independent, then moved over to being a Democrat I was suspicious of Crist.
Tonight I watched a Crist campaign ad in which Crist talked about being on the side of the average person. Immediately following it was Jeb Bush on the air. The cut was so quick I expected Jeb to be supporting his old follower. No - Jeb was disparaging Crist and supporting Scott. After the things Jeb said, I don't see Crist ever going back to Jeb's camp.
I'm going in to vote tomorrow and I will feel much better about my vote for Charlie Crist!
Voting for or against judges - it's important!
I always hate this part of the ballot - it's so hard to tell whether or not a judge is worth retaining in office.
The Florida Bar has a page that helps, a little:
http://www.floridabar.org/thevotesinyourcourt
On the page for each district there is a little information about each judge with a link to their biographies on the district court web site.
This year for the first time ever I see clear reasons to NOT vote to retain two of the judges in the First District Court of Appeals which covers my area. The two judges I will vote against are Tim Osterhaus and Clay Roberts. First thing I noticed in looking over their biographies is how short their lists of qualifications are compared to the other judges on the ballot. They barely have a paragraph while the other judges (Judges Robert Benton, Joseph Lewis, and Scott Makar) have extensive qualifications, experience, honors and publications.
The two I will be voting against have more political than legal qualifications. Clay Roberts has one that really stands out for me - he was Director, Florida Division of Elections, 1999-2002. He was the guy in charge during the 2000 Florida Election debacle!
Here is all I need to know about the other one I will be voting against:
Before his appointment, Tim served as the Solicitor General of Florida under Attorney General Pam Bondi. As Florida’s SG, and as Deputy SG before that, he represented the state and state agencies in all of Florida’s district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, federal district and circuit courts, and the United States Supreme Court. This included work on many notable cases, including Florida’s challenge with 25 other states to the 2010 federal healthcare act.
http://www.1dca.org/judges/osterhaus.html
The first line was enough, but the last sentence I quoted put the nail in it as far as I'm concerned. Neither one of these men should be sitting on any judicial bench in my opinion!
Check out the judges in your area - you may find other Republican appointees that we should send home to spend time with their families, not making decisions that destroy other people's families.
Dream Defenders new Vest or Vote ad campaign
http://dreamdefenders.org/vest/A get-out-the-vote ad by a Florida-based group is part of its new “Vest or Vote” campaign, which is rallying voters around police violence against black boys.
posted on Oct. 14, 2014, at 4:06 p.m.
Darren Sands BuzzFeed Staff
It’s part of the Dream Defenders’ “Vest or Vote” campaign, which organizers say is meant to relay dramatic irony around the urgency of voting in this year’s midterm elections. Dream Defenders accepts grants from individual donors; a crowd funding campaign on IndieGogo recently raised $22,000. It is based in Florida with ten chapters, mostly on college campuses, including Florida State, Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic.
Phillip Agnew, the executive director of the Florida-based group, is also a paid organizer for the SEIU.
A spokesman said the campaign also has a billboard in Tallahassee, as well as a digital ad [shown below] on the Dream Defenders’ website which parodies an online sale for bulletproof vests.
“It’s what we call exaggerated reality,” said Steve Pargett, communications director for Dream Defenders. “But here in Florida, it really is the way that mothers are thinking. Mothers are scared for their children. And young people don’t feel as safe as they did before Trayvon Martin was killed. It’s a reality for people living here.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/darrensands/new-ad-vote-or-buy-a-bulletproof-vest-for-sons#2lcy6wi
Next time I go into town, I'll take a picture of the billboard.
ETA - Local TV coverage of the billboard:
?resize=300%2C169
http://www.wtxl.com/news/dream-defenders-launch-voting-campaign-with-shocking-billboard/article_20c47c3a-541b-11e4-aa17-0017a43b2370.html
Gmail and YouTube are being obnoxious!
I have one personal Gmail account which Google arbitrarily associated with my YouTube account some time back. Yesterday I was checking email both on my personal account and one that I administer for a non-profit. No problems switching back and forth.
Today I wanted to recommend a video that was linked here on DU so I tried to sign into my YouTube account. I got a message from Google saying there was "unusual activity" on my Gmail account and insisting that the only way I could sign in was to give them a phone number and let them text or auto call. As of last night the only "unusual activity" was that I was actually using my account for more than YouTube!
Well, Google, that is NOT going to happen. I don't want calls from Google on my landline and don't do text on the cell phone that is seldom charged or turned on. Google is pushing for "2 step verification" where I would not just enter my password, I would also have to enter a code on my phone. How could I enter a code on my landline? Since I get no cell signal at home, I would not be able to enter a code on my cell phone while sitting at my computer.
I tired creating a new YouTube account that does not use a Gmail address. YouTube arbitrarily assigned the email address as my user ID. If I don't want my email displayed for everything I do on YouTube, I have to associate the account with Google and change the user ID through Google.
I guess my days of using Gmail and YouTube are over. I may watch videos on YouTube - I will not be able to recommend them without an account. I will never be able to upload videos, either.
FU, Google.
Artificial sweeteners may tip scales toward metabolic problems
by Rachel Ehrenberg
1:00pm, September 17, 2014
Eating artificial sweeteners may spur the very health problems that dieters try to avoid. A new multipronged study of mice and a small number of people finds that saccharin meddles with the gut’s microbial community, setting in motion metabolic changes that are associated with obesity and diabetes.
Other zero-calorie sweeteners may cause the same problems, researchers say September 17 in Nature.
<SNIP>
Until recently, most sugar substitutes were thought to pass through the gut undigested, exerting little to no effect on intestinal cells. As ingredients in diet soda, sugar-free desserts and a panoply of other foods, the sweeteners are touted as a way for people with diabetes and weight problems to enjoy a varied diet.
But the new study, led by computational biologist Eran Segal and immunologist Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, suggests that rather than helping people, the sweeteners may promote problems.
More: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-tip-scales-toward-metabolic-problems
Wow! Not a good thing at all.
For those planning to go to Iceland to see Bardarbunga erupt
By Jón Kaldal |Mar 27 2014
While visiting Iceland it's useful to know some key phrases in Icelandic, like góðan dag/good day, takk fyrir/thank you and matseðilinn takk/the menu please. Then you have some you should not bother with. Here are ten.
1. Hvar er næsti McDonald’s? / Where is the nearest McDonald’s?
Nope, no Big Mac for you. There are no MacDonald’s restaurants in Iceland. The fast food chain used to run three outlets in Iceland for a while, but they closed their doors in 2009, the owner maintained it was due to the economic crisis. We believe it was because local burger joints beat off the competition with their tasty burgers (you don’t’ find Starbucks either in Iceland. The local cafes whip up much better coffee drinks).
2. Hvar er næsta lestarstöð? / Where's the closest train station?
There are no trains in Iceland. Domestic travel is by car, plane, boat, bike or foot.
More: http://icelandmag.com/article/10-useless-icelandic-phrases-you-should-not-bother-learn
For #2, they left off a mode of travel - see #10!
I particularly like #5 and #7.
Lightning striking all around our hilltop!
At Dozens of close strikes, several so close I heard a crackle BEFORE the flash of light!
Plus it's raining buckets.
My husband is supposed to be on his way home from work - I hope he has sense to pull over somewhere. I don't want to call his cell in case he is on the road.
There is a heat iadvisory for the frigging BEACH in North Florida!
This if for the Big Bend and Panhandle of North Florida, and for South Georgia and Alabama!
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
231 PM EDT SAT AUG 23 2014
...DANGEROUS HEAT WAVE TO CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY...
.HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE DANGEROUS HEAT INDEX VALUES THROUGH SUNDAY. AN EXCESSIVE
HEAT WARNING CONTINUES ALONG THE COAST TODAY WITH A HEAT ADVISORY
IN EFFECT ELSEWHERE. A HEAT ADVISORY HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED FOR
PORTIONS OF THE AREA FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=FLZ017&warncounty=FLC073&firewxzone=FLZ017&local_place1=3%20Miles%20WSW%20Miccosukee%20Cpo%20FL&product1=Heat+Advisory&lat=30.52358&lon=-84.15381
Forecast for today and tomorrow:
Tonight - Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. West northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday - A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Heat index values as high as 108. North northeast wind around 5 mph.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?map.x=217&map.y=150&site=tae&zmx=1&zmy=1
Too damn hot to got to the beach!
I HATE calling tech support
Especially when it's for my landline. Today my internet, TV and landline kept dropping out. In order to call tech support when the landline isn't working, I have to go outside to use my cellphone. I get no cell signal inside my house.
So I have to call, select 1 for English, select 4 for tech support, 1,2 or 3 for internet, TV or telephone (I picked 1), verify if the number I am calling from is the account number (2 for no), enter the account number, enter 0 because I don't want to use their automated help menu, enter the account number AGAIN, enter the number from which I am calling in case we're cut off. Oh, while they are switching me to a person, they tell me I have to be in front of my computer to assist the tech support person solve my problem. HAH!
I finally get tech support. First thing I have to do is give her my account number AGAIN. Second, give her the number I am calling from in case we're cut off. She verifies the account information and asks my problem. First I tell her that I cannot be at my computer and talk to her at the same time. I have to be outside to talk to her. Then I explain that all my services (that come in on the same line) are intermittently cutting out. And there is no point in using my cell phone number to try to reach me because it will NOT ring or connect inside my house and I will not be standing outside waiting for a call back.
She asks me to check my service - I AGAIN explain to her that I cannot be at the computer and talk to her at the same time. That I just wanted to register a complaint that the services keep cutting out all at the same time. That I don't want to spend much more time outside because the heat index is over 100 but it is cooling down because the thunderstorm with lots of lightning I can hear coming is causing a downdraft. And that I really DO NOT want to continue to stand outside on top of this hill with a lightning storm on the way.
She asks me to hold while she checks my service. I agree but ask her to hurry. She comes back and says there is no problem. I disagree - there is a problem or ALL the services would not be dropping intermittently. She agrees to send a service technician out to check the line. She wanted my cell phone number for the tech to call when he headed my way - uh, REDUX: there is no point in using my cell phone number to try to reach me because it will NOT ring or connect inside my house and I will not be standing outside waiting for a call back. I thank her, got off the phone and back inside.
I just checked my cell phone - the entire screen is filled with numbers from the insane amount of information I had to enter - that never got to the service representatives. It's not her fault - she did not set up the system. But why the heck can't the fucking PHONE COMPANY put caller ID that automatically enters the number into the service representative's screen? Why does it have to ask for it multiple times during the same repair call? 
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