tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44558630625397880032024-02-07T04:12:31.144-08:00Big Bad IdeasDavid Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-56020412621398297302017-10-29T15:07:00.000-07:002017-10-30T10:35:47.581-07:00How we can save our Social Security system for every future generation<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5sky91qHZrXRTjTKkbDaX5gYFRc_MzzORyvQCeqjrwZgR0AAEFAemc8sIK3KE5Y2JxpDGcg9LUXlwmr3P-vOpLL9lTBhMrMnWuOJYgX-FW9KYl10lXLcuFpEwkmEPGm-27u8e7_nOyZ8/s1600/460x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="File Photo. (1935). Franklin Roosevelt Signing the Social Security Act [Photo] Kerrey (Soc. Sec. Ad.) 06:22. CQ Roll Call. Washington DC. Retrieved from https://cqrollcall.photoshelter.com/image/I0000R495QFWb0mY" border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="460" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5sky91qHZrXRTjTKkbDaX5gYFRc_MzzORyvQCeqjrwZgR0AAEFAemc8sIK3KE5Y2JxpDGcg9LUXlwmr3P-vOpLL9lTBhMrMnWuOJYgX-FW9KYl10lXLcuFpEwkmEPGm-27u8e7_nOyZ8/s320/460x.jpg" title="File Photo. (1935). Franklin Roosevelt Signing the Social Security Act [Photo] Kerrey (Soc. Sec. Ad.) 06:22. CQ Roll Call. Washington DC. Retrieved from https://cqrollcall.photoshelter.com/image/I0000R495QFWb0mY" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Roosevelt Signing the Social Security Act (1935)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I've been talking about the age-inversion crisis facing our nation for about 30 years as the number of retirees receiving Social Security benefits exceeds the number of workers supporting them. SS was designed using actuarial information from the 1930s that collected enough money from each worker to provide a SUPPLEMENTARY income for them when they retire. </span><br />
<br clear="none" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">However, from the beginning, the US Gove</span><span data-mce-style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857em;">rnment treated Social Security contributions as it treated Government-issued bonds, spending the money that came in as it came, and promising to pay out the same money with compounded interest. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Then in the 1960's President Johnson, in his "great society" speech, declared that it was shameful that our Social Security system had such a huge surplus while there were disadvantaged families living in poverty. He said our nation could afford to end poverty, and it was our moral duty to do that. I was about 12 years old at the time. It made perfect sense to me. I was all for it. It made me feel good that I lived in a country that cared so much about people.<br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Except I did not understand the implications of spending the social security "surplus." There was NEVER a surplus. All of the money collected by Social Security was collected as a part of a financial contract that would require the return of every penny invested upon the disability or retirement of those who paid into it. In addition, inflation had been progressing on average, at twice the rate of the guaranteed interest rate. In the late 70s and early 80s during the Jimmy Carter administration inflation was over 10% each year, and surpassed 14% until after the first year of Reagan's administration when inflation dropped to under 3% again. During those horrendous years of the Carter administration when average mortgage rates were 14% or higher, and grocery store prices had nearly doubled due to inflation in the previous three years, large numbers of retirees whose incomes never went up were being impoverished. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Our Government responded by creating "cost of living" adjustments to social security payments based on an index of commodity prices, however that index has been regularly tampered with to enable whichever political party is in power to claim the economy was better than it actually was. Tampering with the cost of living index by leaving out medical insurance costs is how Obama was able to claim he improved the economy while the average household income shrank, and those on social security, who were already hard-hit by the extreme price increases from grocery prices, energy prices, and medical costs, were also hit with lower monthly checks from their Government-run retirement plan, based on the political fiction that Obama's economy had improved. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Back in the 1980s, before Clinton took office, it was obvious to me that the Social Security "surplus" that the politicians were anxious to spend was a temporary bubble caused by the baby boom generation that so vastly outnumbered those who were retired. One day, I did the math on the declining birth rate and the increasing age of the baby boom generation, and it was not hard to graph how we were headed toward an inversion of the ratio of payers to payees in which the spent surplus would become a burden of debt on the next generation. It scared me. I knew human nature then as I do now. No one wants to be saddled with the debt of others, and young people starting families have to focus on providing for their children over all other needs. I realized then that unless we made major reforms to Social Security that it would go bankrupt and would begin to be treated as a welfare program rather than a retirement program. It seemed obvious to me that I could not count on social security to exist at all by the time I retired, yet the very poor economy made saving for retirement difficult. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />I responded by educating myself on investments and creating an investment company that focused on encouraging people my age (in my 20s) to put aside small amounts of money each month into growth-focused mutual funds. I got a series six securities license and I contracted with a company to begin that dream. Unfortunately, my vision of focusing on people my own age who were making very small contributions did not produce a livable income. Worse, while I correctly surmised that real-estate was a solid investment in terms of its intrinsic value, I was devastated to see how people who had followed my advice were hurt by the housing bubble. Granted, the real cause of the problem was fraudulent manipulation of the housing market by big investors in New York, but that disenchanted me entirely. I changed careers. I had been writing my own software to help me understand and predict the economic future of specific companies and to create sales presentations, and I found that was the part of my work that I enjoyed the most, so I sold my client base to another company, I did some free-lance programming and data-recovery work, I built and sold computers out of my home, and I slowly established a reputation as a computer consultant. I spent my last 20 years as a programmer and IT consultant. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Even during those years, I worked hard writing editorials and corresponding regularly with my senators about how to correct the impending social security crisis by privatizing part of its funding. Unfortunately, Al Gore, with his "lock box" shell game convinced the Nation that continuing to "invest" social security taxes in current Government Spending was somehow equivalent to saving money for the future, and the collapse of our social security system became inevitable. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />In the 90s and after 2000, my hope was that our nation could outgrow its debt via the artificial boom in production from the microcomputer revolution, which played a big role in my decision to be involved in that industry. I could also see a lot of potential not only for the US economy, but for the Global economy with internet-based trade, but it was obvious we would have to overcome our national xenophobia with regard to international trade. I wrote many letters to my representatives in the early 90s encouraging the elimination of international tariffs, and I was a big supporter of the free trade agreement and developing trade relations with Russia and China. I continue to believe that protectionist ideas supported by labor unions and now by Trump supporters is short-sighted and ultimately will cost us more than it helps us.<br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />As I became involved at the request of my Church pastor in teaching ESL classes to immigrants, I saw another big opportunity for our economy, which is to encourage immigration to fill our great need to improve the ratio of workers to retirees in this nation. However, xenophobia promises our nation will self-destruct in this area also. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />I have mixed feelings about promoting immigration and ending the racist quota system that causes so many good tax-paying, law-abiding immigrants to become classified as "illegal," because I don't want our country to just take advantage of immigrants. If we don't reform our social security system, then saving it for today would only push the problem to the next generation. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />Here is how we can save our Social Security system for every future generation:<br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />1) I think immigration reform that ends racist quotas and encourages more immigrant workers to grow our economy, become US Citizens and improve our worker to retiree ratio is our last great hope economically, but it will only be a short-term fix unless we also reform our social security system. <br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />2) We need to gradually reduce the percentage of the Social Security trust that is invested in public debt. I think we should apply some of the principles that were incorporated in the ACA, making partners of the Insurance and Annuity industry to fund our Nation's social contract. I think this should involve mandatory co-insurance arrangements between Government and private investment companies to manage risk and keep our social contract accountable.<br clear="none" /><br clear="none" />3) I think we need to repent of our xenophobic approach to global trade and stop making protectionist decisions that attempt to help us locally while hurting other countries. That kind of approach can only work short-term, and will most certainly be a cause of conflict and even war in the future. Our nation needs to be a responsible world citizen, not only for our own financial welfare but the for the global economy also.<br /><br /><br />Related article (and the source of the photo):</span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span data-mce-style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;" style="display: inline; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857em;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">Ohlemacher, S. (2015, August 14). Things to know about Social Security at 80: Overhaul time? <i>Associated Press</i>. Retrieved from <a href="https://apnews.com/0c7c2e54ae394863bf6b2a14f4f978a0/things-know-about-social-security-80-overhaul-time">https://apnews.com/0c7c2e54ae394863bf6b2a14f4f978a0/things-know-about-social-security-80-overhaul-time</a></span>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-2989712170734470812017-10-26T08:03:00.005-07:002017-10-26T09:13:00.761-07:00DMCA, DRM, and the destruction of creativity and human rightsThe courts are overdue striking down the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It has been the most destructive impediment to human rights and modern culture ever passed into US law in my generation, and it has created an outrageously out-of-control monster of the entire entertainment industry. I don't see how its excesses can be corrected without breaking up most corporations in the entertainment industry. If our courts won't strike it down, then our legislature must replace it.<br />
<br />
Copyright law is supposed to reward those who create, but instead, it throttles creativity as it rewards corporations that continually push the limits on how debased our culture can get. Media companies strangle creativity by enforcing lowest-common-denominator principles that put short-term profitable fads over enduring artistic endeavors. Culture, art, and short-term corporate profits are mutually exclusive.<br />
<br />
I want to see new copyright laws that focus primarily on protecting authors and artists from the creativity-crushing media corporations. Media corporations should not be allowed to own copyrights. The corporate ownership of copyrights conflicts with the public interest. Only individuals who create, and possibly limited partnerships representing groups of people who create should ever be allowed to own copyrights, and copyright restrictions should die a natural death with the creator(s) of the content, with only a short (20-year) extension provided for the estate of a creator who dies prematurely. All other corporate entities must license such rights from those who create media content via short-term (5 to 10-year) contracts that must be periodically renewed.<br />
<br />
I don't have the same definition of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) software that is generally understood by most people. In my mind, its a synonym for all Government-backed Corporate theft that is perpetrated on innocent citizens via software.<br />
<br />
DRM is the legally protected malware that preemptively deletes files from your computer that you may have paid hundreds of dollars and spent thousands of hours to acquire on the theory that everyone is guilty until proven innocent if a bit of software code mistakes your files for something owned by one of those big out-of-control corporations that published it or something similar to it.<br />
<br />
DRM is the robo-sheriff that steals from the poor and gives to the rich, but cannot be held responsible for any personal property it might destroy in the process.<br />
<br />
DRM is the software that marks the video of your baby's first steps the property of a pop singer whose music might be playing in the background, but cannot be distinguished from normal background noise by any human ear, yet it makes mothers spend thousands of dollars and risk punitive civil court fees if they go to court to get their home movies back.<br />
<br />
DRM is the software that takes down original performances of music written in the 1800s and if the takedown notice is successfully disputed, automated software issues a new take-down notice within a few hours, starving the legitimate owner of any benefit of his creation with impunity. Even then, if it is eventually restored, it is likely that the artist's royalties will be diverted to some wealthy music company with no legitimate claim to the work that is too big to fear your warnings they may be sued, because it's cheaper for them to use more automated software to shut down their detractors than it is for them to pay attention to individuals fighting their Government-protected piracy.<br />
<br />
DRM is the way in which big corporations can encode rules into software that could never be legislated because they would violate the US Constitution. DRM is legislation by the rich that by-passes the legislative process and all accountability to the public on whom it enforces its actions.<br />
<br />
DRM is the software that can get you put in jail just for tampering with it when it glitches, regardless of whether that tampering actually stops a big corporation from stealing from you.<br />
<br />
DRM is how wealthy corporations pirate the royalties earned by individuals who post their work on YouTube just by making false claims of ownership that the law makes nearly impossible for individuals to be able to afford to dispute.<br />
<br />
DRM is how wealthy corporations can ignore the expiration of copyright dates and still demand payment for something they no longer own.<br />
<br />
DRM is how wealthy corporations can penalize people for making fair use of copyrighted material in violation of the principle that all information belongs to the public, and that copyrights exist ONLY as a temporary and narrowly limited exception to that principle.<br />
<br />
Software should never be a substitute for law-enforcement, but until this travesty of human rights has been dismantled, its victims must be compensated lavishly for every property rights violation it commits with all property fully restored or compensated at several times the cost of any damaged equipment and license fees paid plus punitive damages for the destruction of personal recordings (sounds, pictures, and other media) that cannot be replaced, with the burden of proof and all technical and legal fees placed entirely on the publisher of the offending DRM software.<br />
<br />
Information is NEVER ANYONE's property. It can only be leased for a short time from the public domain.<br />
<br />
Wow. Now I think I should post an equally long response to what I just said with all the court records that back up my comments. I have all that documentation filed, but legal citations break all the normal citation rules, and I spend hours fighting with my software to get it to properly cite laws and court decisions. Still, as always, I maintain documentation of every claim I post, so if anyone wants the citations, I'll be happy to look them up for anyone who posts a question.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-10848563362621563072017-09-25T09:32:00.000-07:002017-09-25T09:49:56.533-07:00How To Have Clean Glasses<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHUvX3fH_UtKCPnONZt503RnqOzy9QS4UTgf-TSRNkMRHsM0lkVWlx01Lc4cFsRRmMlmlSCuJBlHZulgS7igKv_EdRlNIK86uFGesaP3AeY4eS1c-vq25sTzGKos2IR_x2JMsCOG-WwU_/s1600/How2cleanGlasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image description: cleaning glasses while holding them from the bridge" border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="937" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHUvX3fH_UtKCPnONZt503RnqOzy9QS4UTgf-TSRNkMRHsM0lkVWlx01Lc4cFsRRmMlmlSCuJBlHZulgS7igKv_EdRlNIK86uFGesaP3AeY4eS1c-vq25sTzGKos2IR_x2JMsCOG-WwU_/s320/How2cleanGlasses.jpg" title="Edited version of image retrieved 9/25/2017 from http://pixostudio.com/imgs/glasses/category/rb4177/" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hold glasses by the bridge to clean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span 12px="" arial="" class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="3239" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="3240" style="font-family: inherit;">1) Before you leave the optometrist's office, make sure your glasses fit well so that the lenses are not making contact with skin or eyelashes.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="3241" style="font-family: inherit;">2) Develop the habit of handling glasses by gripping them at the bridge (over your nose).</span></span><span 12px="" arial="" class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4128" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4129" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4130" style="font-family: inherit;">3) Never use paper or unknown synthetic fabrics to clean or dry glasses.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4131" style="font-family: inherit;">4) Develop the habit of wiping glasses from the outside toward the bridge to avoid spreading oils and dust particles trapped in the oils that are generally most concentrated near the bridge.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4132" style="font-family: inherit;">5) Don't clean glasses "when they need it" or you will over-clean them, creating micro-scratches that will make your glasses always seem dirty anytime they aren't wet.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4133" style="font-family: inherit;">6) Routine cleaning should be done with warm water and only the smallest amount of detergent necessary to prevent water spots. More detergent can be used if necessary, but rinse them later. Do not rinse glasses with water that does not have a small amount of detergent or the water will leave mineral deposits that can cloud and scratch glasses. Whenever possible, let glasses air dry rather than drying them with a cloth.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4134" style="font-family: inherit;">7) When you MUST clean glasses outside of your routine, use a moist towelette specifically designed for cleaning glasses.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4135" style="font-family: inherit;">8) Never use a dry cloth to clean glasses, not even a micro-fiber cloth, however, a dry micro-fiber cloth that is only used to dry clean glasses is an excellent choice for drying glasses after washing them when air-drying is not possible.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4136" style="font-family: inherit;">9) When you clean your glasses, pay attention to their state of repair. Tighten loose screws and make sure the glasses are still not making contact with skin or eyelashes while in normal use.</span><br /><br /><span class="js-evernote-checked" data-evernote-id="4137" style="font-family: inherit;">10) Some people recommend only keeping glasses in a glasses case, but it is my opinion that glasses don't last as long if they are regularly folded and unfolded. Nevertheless, it is important to only lay glasses in a place created for them where they are protected and where they will not be exposed to dust. A small tray with a cloth laid over them would be a good choice. So would a wooden box with a hinged lid that is large enough to hold them unfolded.</span></span></span>David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-48083239381714683082017-08-29T08:13:00.001-07:002017-09-19T18:17:35.604-07:00MEDICARE, the PURPOSE of insurance is to ELIMINATE cost uncertainty!Went to the lab to have blood work done this morning, and was given this form to sign. Apparently, there was no timing issue. The lab didn't have any record of this test having been performed within the last six months, so WHY would they require signing a form like this?!!!<br /><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvgLDR6vGvR7cG82JI6_xelnb2PEKeDWc3q6EJycFmMolA42UDYEJARlkLamnLuD-4mQ4Iq4vEOrDf-YVfhfCpxbGAnXlSwfDkU-7qivUw4qeS8MLOt2bS8AUV3TvzJ-J7bkDmwNPGgW6/s1600/CMS-R-131+redacted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1239" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvgLDR6vGvR7cG82JI6_xelnb2PEKeDWc3q6EJycFmMolA42UDYEJARlkLamnLuD-4mQ4Iq4vEOrDf-YVfhfCpxbGAnXlSwfDkU-7qivUw4qeS8MLOt2bS8AUV3TvzJ-J7bkDmwNPGgW6/s640/CMS-R-131+redacted.jpg" title="Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage" width="494" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Either ask for payment upon service or refuse service. No pointless forms like this should EVER be shown to a patient!<br />
<br />
"Estimated costs" should be illegal for routine procedures such as blood tests. The PURPOSE of insurance is to ELIMINATE cost uncertainty! Either charge or don't charge. Don't EVER leave a patient in a position of not knowing what their care will cost. A practice like this can only lead to abuse and fraud, and will NEVER benefit patients.<br />
<br />
If it cannot be determined in advance whether Medicare will pay, then Medicare is corrupt and full of fraud. If a private insurance company tried to get by with a practice like this, they would be shut down by the insurance commissioner's office.David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-35305054395434343732017-07-12T07:06:00.001-07:002017-07-12T07:06:20.167-07:00SAVE THE OPEN INTERNET - Here's How<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y8v8MhSUvCw" width="480"></iframe>David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-7730288740037282502016-06-02T21:43:00.000-07:002017-06-11T19:47:50.154-07:00Getty images has joined the ranks of fraudulent copyright claimants.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXXS9aDFGGHzMI5ewo1FK3JxZHPYmrfbT1H_tIeZ7snlZiDRA3pAhqqI15mlKjbiCMDevwt37whl-qrNQMiSM6jowDzYJP8Q9Q-IgI_VPKSMbaO6Sj325sqSezI7_z3m_6O1JDrIZwaCZ/s1600/ArtLawJournalFairUse3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1088" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXXS9aDFGGHzMI5ewo1FK3JxZHPYmrfbT1H_tIeZ7snlZiDRA3pAhqqI15mlKjbiCMDevwt37whl-qrNQMiSM6jowDzYJP8Q9Q-IgI_VPKSMbaO6Sj325sqSezI7_z3m_6O1JDrIZwaCZ/s640/ArtLawJournalFairUse3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/">https://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Fraudulent practices include claiming ownership of artwork or photos that the service does not own. I call it "copyright squatting." It happens when a publisher uses an automated system to crawl blogger sites to determine ownership of artwork, and when no copyright is found, they claim it as their own, wait a while, and then send an extortion letter, hoping you will not know who owns the photo or artwork. A simple way around this kind of fraud is to use a cloud-based backup service that will date-stamp your photo when it is ready to be published. It also doesn't hurt to also backup date-stamped copies of preliminary versions of the artwork.<br />
<br />
Another form of fraud specifically being used by Getty images has been to assign an outlandish and illegal fee for the use of such images. The law clearly specifies that only a usual and customary charge for licensed artwork can be claimed in a lawsuit against a non-commercial blogger who uses artwork without permission.<br />
<a href="https://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/" target="_blank">Here is what the Art Law Journal suggests to those facing an extortion letter from Getty.</a><br />
<br />
Here is what I suggest people do to protect themselves from fraudulent lawsuits from Getty images:<br />
<br />
1) Block Getty Images so you will never see an image that has their copyright notice on it. (A symbolic boycott which probably won't affect their business, but it also decreases the chances that you will ever use one of their images.)<br />
<br />
2) Always verify the owner of any pictures you post using a reverse image search program such as Google Images or TinEye<br />
<br />
3) Use your own photos and artwork to illustrate blogs. If part of your artwork is based on portions of material taken from someone else, credit the owner with a citation listing the name of the artist or photographer, the date the image copyright (or the date the image was retrieved), the publisher that handles copyrights, and the address where an official copy of the image can be retrieved.<br />
<br />
4) If you use someone else's work, ask permission to use it. If they fail to grant permission, find something else, or create your own derivative artwork, and credit them for the idea, i.e. original artwork by David Lloyd inspired by Photographer, T.(2016). Company that owns the artwork. Retrieved from https://companythatownstheartwork.com/insiringart.jpg<br />
<br />
5) If you want to use the original artwork, buy the necessary license to publish it on your blog. Fees for one-time use as a blog illustration are normally in the $5.00 to $15.00 range (at least I have never been charged more than that for one of the images I have licensed, and in the case when I couldn't afford the license, I contacted the artist and got permission from the artist (which I have been careful to keep documented, and the artist has been credited, fully cited, and publically thanked for his permission).<br />
<br />
6) A fair use workaround I have used for blog illustrations has been to use a link published by the owner rather than to upload a copy of the photo. (It's not fair use if you link to a stolen image). The owner must still be credited with a proper citation, and the blog must not make a profit from using the photo, nor can it be a fan page that promotes a business. The safest scenario for a fair use case is a not-for-profit use of a published link (published by the owner only) by a blog that exists primarily for educational purposes.<br />
<br />
The downside of the fair-use route is that the publisher retains control of the source you have linked, and may take it down at any time. It is good to supply alternate text to be displayed if access to the image is later removed.<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
<br />
Steve Schlackman. (2014, April 13). Tips for Responding to a Getty Images Extortion Letter. Retrieved from <a href="http://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/">http://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/</a><br />
<br />
Image--Original mashup by David Lloyd of artwork from:<br />
<br />
Kalina, A. (n.d.). Background Money [Image]. Hemera Collection. Getty Images Royalty-Free No Release Required. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/money-royalty-free-image/100276641">http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/money-royalty-free-image/100276641</a><br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
Steve Schlackman. (2014, April 13). Tips for Responding to a Getty Images Extortion Letter. Retrieved from <a href="http://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/">http://artlawjournal.com/tips-responding-getty-images-demand-letter/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-44390987353045264482016-05-14T19:30:00.000-07:002017-06-11T19:45:35.913-07:00Amendment to Rule 41, Title 28, Section 2072 of the US Code Extending 1st Amendment Rights Violations Made Possible By The Patriot Act<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
An extremely dangerous amendment to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Title 28, Section 2072 of the United States Code, which defines the procedural rules for the implementation of the US Constitution) affecting how Search and Seizure warrants can be issued, has been ordered by the US Supreme Court. The changes go into effect December 1st of this year unless Congress rejects the amendment. The changes to Rule 41, could provide a legal loophole that could be used to violate 1st Amendment rights, based on the frequent 1st amendment violations already being committed by the NSA under the Patriot Act. Those excesses are currently under review, and pending legislation is expected to rectify them, but this amendment to the United States Code will make those reforms pointless because the rule change will have the same practical effect.<br />
<br />
Although Rule 41 specifies how warrants are issued, the changes to the rule would also affect procedures used in those situations in which search and seizure are legal without a warrant.<br />
<br />
One problem with the changes is that the new rules assume that attempts to maintain online privacy, such as disabling the ability for computers and cell phones to report their location, using network services such as TOR and VPNs, all constitute evidence of criminal intent. While these technologies are used to hide criminal activity, they are far more commonly used to protect individuals from malware attacks and identity theft, to enable secure online shopping, for off-site data backups, and to provide privacy and data security for cloud-based services including various virtual meeting and conferencing software packages, online seminars, online support services in which support companies use remote control software to access customer computers, people taking online classes, voice-over-IP technology (which enables my cell phone to work in areas where my phone company doesn't provide service), Skype visual telephone and teleconferencing, and applications that create massively parallel virtual supercomputers for weather forecasting, investment research, and scientific research. In fact, there are so many pervasive and legitimate uses for this technology that criminal activity probably constitutes a fraction of one percent of all such traffic.<br />
<br />
Microsoft recently (2014) embarrassed itself and exposed itself to extreme financial risk by grossly underestimating the legitimate use of a dynamic DNS service in an attempt to shut down two people who were running a botnet to steal credit card information from people using Microsoft Wallet. Microsoft, using flawed reasoning very similar to the reasoning behind the upcoming changes to Rule 41, talked a naive judge into issuing a court order that enabled Microsoft to intercept a free dynamic DNS service. In asking for the court order, Microsoft assumed most of the affected traffic was related to the criminal activity affecting them, however, they failed to mention that the participating computers in the botnet belonged to roughly 5,000 innocent people, and their action, done illegally in secret (which the judge would never have allowed had Microsoft presented him with accurate information) shut down approximately 5,000,000 internet servers, each providing various important services to large groups of people. I am amazed Microsoft appears to have gotten out of their extreme mistake with only an apology! (I understand they did capture the two criminals, which is good, but their action caused far more disruption to than it stopped.)<br />
<br />
However Microsoft's action did not harm any computers, and the disruption they unintentionally caused only lasted three days. The effects of Rule 41 will necessarily involve installing malware on the computers of millions of innocent people, not only within US Jurisdiction but worldwide, which will not only violate the US Constitution but will also violate a number of US Treaty obligations to foreign allies. Of the computers infected, all will run just a little slower as a result of installing the Government's spyware, some equipment, which may be far more than anticipated, will be permanently damaged, and possibly worst of all, the US Government has a HORRIBLE track record of implementing technologies that give our enemies (including everyone from petty criminals to enemy nations) access to the computers they tap for their own purposes.<br />
<br />
The court system is far-outreaching both its authority and its [technical] competence in enacting such an invasive rule change. Even if such surveillance is possible without violating the US Constitution, the technology involved is too new to be safely hacked even by those with the best intentions. It can be assumed at this stage, that any benefit that might be gleaned from this rule change would be greatly outweighed by the unintended injustices that would result from its use.<br />
<br />
Rather than usurping the authority of the legislature while it violates the US Constitution and Foreign treaty obligations, it would be better to leave any changes of this magnitude to the US legislature, where the implications of such drastic change can be considered, weighed, and openly and publicly debated, as our Constitution requires.<br />
<br />
(not attempting to document everything I wrote, but here are some of my more important sources of information)<br />
<br />
Cardozo, N. (2014, July). What Were They Thinking? Microsoft Seizes, Returns Majority of No-IP.com’s Business. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/microsoft-and-noip-what-were-they-thinking">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/microsoft-and-noip-what-were-they-thinking</a><br />
<br />
-----------------------------<br />
Reitman, R. (2016, April). With Rule 41, Little-Known Committee Proposes to Grant New Hacking Powers to the Government. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/rule-41-little-known-committee-proposes-grant-new-hacking-powers-government">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/rule-41-little-known-committee-proposes-grant-new-hacking-powers-government</a><br />
<br />
-----------------------------<br />
Stepanovich, A. (2009). Testimony of Amie Stepanovich Senior Policy Counsel, Access on behalf of Access and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Before the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules on the Matter of Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 41. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/archive/docs/Rule41botnettestimony.pdf">https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/archive/docs/Rule41botnettestimony.pdf</a><br />
<br />
-----------------------------<br />
Supreme Court of the United States. Proposed Amendments to Criminal Rules 4, 41, and 45 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in Section 2072 of Title 28, United States Code (2016). USA. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/frcr16_mj80.pdf">http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/frcr16_mj80.pdf</a><br />
<br />
ORDERED:<br />
1. That the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure be, and they hereby are, amended by including therein amendments to Criminal Rules 4, 41, and 45. [See infra pp. .]<br />
2. That the foregoing amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure shall take effect on December 1, 2016, and shall govern in all proceedings in criminal cases thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and practicable, all proceedings then pending.<br />
3. That THE CHIEF JUSTICE be, and hereby is, authorized to transmit to the Congress the foregoing amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in accordance with the provisions of Section 2072 of Title 28, United States Code.<br />
<br />
(I don't think my software correctly formatted my court order citation, but I think all the important information is supplied, regardless.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-1812307017055973782016-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:002017-06-11T12:26:25.196-07:0046 minutes well spent: Edward Snowden Interview on Apple vs. FBI, Privacy, the NSA, and More<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o8pkUTav0mk" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
There's a very real difference between allegiance to country–allegiance to people–than allegiance to the state, which is what nationalism today is really more about," says Edward Snowden. On February 20, 2016, the whistleblowing cyber security expert addressed a wide range of questions during an in-depth interview.<br />
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-31735826115647036962016-02-05T09:27:00.002-08:002017-06-11T19:20:10.621-07:00The One Fix That Could Save Windows 10<div class="_39k2" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16.08px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 40px 0px; position: relative;">
<div class="_4lmk _2vxa" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 40px; line-height: 48px; margin: 0px auto 12px; position: relative; width: 700px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<h4>
The One Fix<br /> That Could Save Windows 10</h4>
</div>
<div class="_2yud clearfix" style="margin: 0px auto; width: 700px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="_ohe lfloat" style="float: left;">
<div class="_2yuf img _8o _8r" style="background-image: url("https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hprofile-xpt1/v/t1.0-1/p50x50/12507232_10208664583842023_296411374745832728_n.jpg?oh=5dcf08887101860dce139bb3cc1daa0d&oe=573B340F"); background-size: 24px 24px; border-radius: 13px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14902) 0px 0px 1px 1px inset; float: left; height: 24px; margin-right: 5px; width: 24px;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="_42ef _8u" style="overflow: hidden;">
<div class="_3uhg" style="color: #9197a3; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 4px 0px 0px 4px; text-transform: uppercase;">
DAVID LLOYD<span class="_4_mg" style="padding: 0px 6px;">·</span>FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016<span class="_4_mf" style="margin-left: 8px; text-transform: none;"><a aria-label="Shared with: Public" class="uiStreamPrivacy inlineBlock fbStreamPrivacy fbPrivacyAudienceIndicator" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/david-lloyd/the-one-fix-that-could-save-windows/10153381138737514#" id="u_c_2" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;"><i class="lock img sp_gdfeqFK7zfZ sx_7797f4" style="background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v2/yq/r/P7f6wrc6XGN.png"); background-position: -39px -70px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; bottom: -1px; display: inline-block; height: 12px; margin-bottom: -5px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; width: 12px;"></i></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!--<div class="_39k5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; overflow: inherit; padding-bottom: 60px; position: relative;">
-->
<br />
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; margin: 0px auto 28px; width: 700px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP0W4bucBPqPMHU1Sn9Y5vc0xNznr6wCWfbt4T8HAyNIQo29-p91yQ-ycGG1DXvstW83IeW5Q0tGFTqQghiLkCY_2BKOEmFdtjun7ykczqThpnWskEs2qM0JNBlFTHgsTOGKBIMQGDUp-/s1600/IMG_20160121_191900-ANIMATION.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="This animation depicts repeated failed update attempts WIndows 10" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP0W4bucBPqPMHU1Sn9Y5vc0xNznr6wCWfbt4T8HAyNIQo29-p91yQ-ycGG1DXvstW83IeW5Q0tGFTqQghiLkCY_2BKOEmFdtjun7ykczqThpnWskEs2qM0JNBlFTHgsTOGKBIMQGDUp-/s320/IMG_20160121_191900-ANIMATION.gif" title="Google "Auto-Awesome" animation of images taken of my computer" width="320" /></a><b>The One Fix That Could Save Windows 10 </b>would be giving clients the ability to prevent updates.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Until Windows 7, there was NEVER a version of Windows update that worked consistently enough that I could just trust it and leave it alone, and even with Windows 7, I made sure I had done a good backup before I ever flipped the switch to allow an update to proceed. In those cases when I had to revert to the pre-update state, I checked my hardware drivers related to the problem, updated the driver (or waited for the update), and then ran Windows Update manually. I did not allow my computer to remain in a pre-update state, as happens now when auto-updates fail. Every version of Windows I have used has occasionally attempted an update that disabled my computer. Sometimes it disables printing, sometimes it disables an input device, sometimes it disables network access, and sometimes the computer just has to be wiped and everything reinstalled after a Windows update. Nothing is more dangerous to people who need a dependable computer than an operating system that auto-updates without regard for what damage may be done by their random changes.</div>
<br />
When Microsoft advertised that we should trust them, that Windows 7 would be an improvement, I held out a long time before trying it, but once I did, I wished I had trusted them a lot sooner. So when Microsoft told me I should trust them, that they had fixed their problems, and were so confident in their technology that they would be able to enforce Windows Update with no anticipated problems, I got suckered into believing them.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnpQWb_tmlmSbBJjh1P_F3v160WRMAdtDekO5BCMAA9qrGixIpdeaDmLOwqnj3sKEgb6l9Gq1UzQIeElD8HwtIMYJ0kpttgIR14tHo31PeOHPIjABblfIWymEYYfYnnShLSFZCYyBlgoW/s1600/We+finally+fixed+everything.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnpQWb_tmlmSbBJjh1P_F3v160WRMAdtDekO5BCMAA9qrGixIpdeaDmLOwqnj3sKEgb6l9Gq1UzQIeElD8HwtIMYJ0kpttgIR14tHo31PeOHPIjABblfIWymEYYfYnnShLSFZCYyBlgoW/s400/We+finally+fixed+everything.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bit.ly/1SQeRbZ">http://bit.ly/1SQeRbZ</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br />They broke my trust. Worse, I </span><span style="text-align: justify;">believe they have broken their </span><span style="text-align: justify;">future. Windows isn't the only </span><span style="text-align: justify;">OS that can do all of the things</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><br />Microsoft advertises. In fact, it is likely Microsoft took this irresponsible gamble to prevent them from being left in the dust. Unfortunately, instead of being destroyed by their competitors, they are doing it to themselves, because I will never again run an OS that dictates how I configure my computer.<br />
<br />
As soon as I find a reliable way to maintain my software investment, I'll be purchasing another SSD, and I'll be booting to Linux Mint. However, I haven't made the switch yet, Microsoft.<br />
<br />
This is your chance to fix everything.</div>
<br />
Just get rid of forced updates on incompatible equipment, and this vitriol that you are getting from so many people will vanish overnight.</div>
<!--</div>
-->David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-51676554743564122842015-09-29T11:51:00.000-07:002015-09-29T12:10:25.710-07:00If you have to "work on your budget," you're doing it wrong.(I wrote this. It is not an advertisement.)<br />
<br />
YNAB makes the "burden" of following a budget feel like freedom.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnamCKjmVjt68SLCPhjcMXbrJQFAGnqHoY7IX_QAHTCbXaY88Qz_y_JRNZ15YOG8Pa_UOWmb_63u9KjgeWD4KRSHBcdsXOKAmBVecOEEi7D6NwZ-5mEzVJuEbszlYpx8ieYpEcGhMhzYE/s1600/another_ynab_you_need_a_budget_by_jonnyrockets.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnamCKjmVjt68SLCPhjcMXbrJQFAGnqHoY7IX_QAHTCbXaY88Qz_y_JRNZ15YOG8Pa_UOWmb_63u9KjgeWD4KRSHBcdsXOKAmBVecOEEi7D6NwZ-5mEzVJuEbszlYpx8ieYpEcGhMhzYE/s1600/another_ynab_you_need_a_budget_by_jonnyrockets.png" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 style="background-color: #dae5d6; color: #414d4c; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; margin: -3px 0px 0px; text-align: start;">
<small style="display: block; letter-spacing: 0.02em;"><span class="by" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14.9333px; line-height: 1.175;"> by</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.9333px; line-height: 1.175;"> </span></span><span class="username-with-symbol u"><a class="u regular username" data-ga_click_event="{"category":"Deviation","action":"description_author","nofollow":0}" href="http://jonnyrockets.deviantart.com/" style="color: rgb(51, 114, 135) !important; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14.9333px; line-height: 1.175; text-decoration: none !important; white-space: nowrap;">JonnyRockets</a> </span><a class="h" data-ga_click_event="{"category":"Deviation","action":"description_breadcrumb","nofollow":0}" href="http://www.deviantart.com/browse/all/customization/icons/" itemprop="url" style="background-color: transparent; color: #414d4c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 8.25pt; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: 1.175; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">Icons</a></small></h1>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Several months ago (possibly over a year ago) my son gave me a copy of <a href="https://www.youneedabudget.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YNAB (You Need A Budget) software</a>. Last week, after several false starts due to not understanding this software's approach to budgeting, I finally took a free online seminar to introduce me to the concepts of this software. Afterward, I set up a new budget using the software. I am impressed. <br /><br />I have owned and used Quicken, Microsoft Money, Money Matters, and even software I wrote myself that automatically checked my bank account, distributed deposits for various purposes, and showed me how much money was available by purpose.<br />
<br />
These various programs all do what they are supposed to do, but every one of them took so much time to manage, that I fell behind with each of them until restarting was not practical. The software I wrote for myself was the only software I actually used for an extended period of time, but it had so many hard-coded assumptions that no longer apply now, that it took too much work to adjust figures, and I fell out of the habit of using it.<br />
<br />
YNAB's strength is that its focus is on planning how to spend the money on-hand, rather than on forecasting and record-keeping, although it does remember how I use it, and makes it easier to do repetitive tasks, and it keeps excellent records. It also has user-friendly pie charts and reports. If I ever get behind, starting over is a simple matter of clicking "Fresh Start," entering current account balances, and planning where to spend those current account balances.<br />
<br />
Every budget software I've used in the past has focused on setting up (and then endlessly adjusting) rules and schedules, but YNAB only focuses on assigning a task for each current dollar. I spend very little time using the program on the computer, and when I'm at the store, I can use my phone to check what money is available to spend per budget category, rather than just checking my account balance, which can result in false security. Meanwhile, money tucked away for future use doesn't make me feel "rich" until it is spent, because I only see grocery money in my account when I'm shopping for groceries.<br />
<br />
One week is not a lot of time to judge the value of a personal accounting program, but I have spent more time writing this post than I have spent planning today's shopping trip, scanning the receipt afterwards, and entering the receipt in my budget register. I am very impressed that it is possible to spend so little time and effort to gain much greater control over my money than I've had in the past.David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-60604671884085906752015-09-19T15:36:00.001-07:002017-06-11T19:54:17.249-07:00Pre-emptive Endorsement RequiredI just blocked a video source that I have seen shared by Facebook friends several times recently. This video source, adamdanyal. com, demands a preemptive "like" in order to see what was shared. Consequently, I have never seen anything that was shared from this site. I won't endorse anything before I've seen it, and I find it annoying to have something someone shared blocked because I won't "like" it before I see it. It's blocked now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OieFw4ivF7GKsQPXADdyTLaN_-EY0Z3PuNNlLqwugLDdELLGKfqXJSvQX2xdgKsGe8nO7_gMfeuQTJfy_bO0tl30EVm-KGIfz9gJdVV8W1RATfqgaJGnMBPoQsFqRTe9DIUsUbPHCfAi/s1600/Blocked+video+source2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OieFw4ivF7GKsQPXADdyTLaN_-EY0Z3PuNNlLqwugLDdELLGKfqXJSvQX2xdgKsGe8nO7_gMfeuQTJfy_bO0tl30EVm-KGIfz9gJdVV8W1RATfqgaJGnMBPoQsFqRTe9DIUsUbPHCfAi/s640/Blocked+video+source2.JPG" width="544" /></a></div>
<br />
I also added http://www .adamdanyal. com to my ad blocking software's permanent filter. I'll never face that particular annoyance (or anything else from adamdanyal. com) again.<br />
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-88305727617430432532015-09-16T08:10:00.002-07:002015-09-16T08:10:40.224-07:00If you will become a RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISER, then I will see your ads.<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_55f9846d27bb13331508153" style="display: inline;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.38;">(While this post was inspired by The Guardian, it applies to all advertising supported internet content providers.)<br /><br />With the volume turned all the way up, and with two sets of amplified external speakers, I could not hear dialog from your commentary on drug laws:</span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2015/sep/09/i-hear-voices-in-my-head-but-im-fine-video" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/…/i-hear-voices-in-my-head-but-i…</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Since I have no trouble hearing sound on other websites, and I don't see others making similar complaints, I suspect my difficulty hearing audio has something to do with yo<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ur comment that I blocked your advertising.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULLBO3BWX5R8tEM4u__wjKx4Igt07OWf4xDW49alnJPizEdplDmtYf1JoHiX13uhI1HHt_4yEV_rsgHPXCjkBUD_21unhaEnaq_eUegNVmtL58R-3uyOl46FQOxz9jeptvo7w7c9JUjGC/s1600/Guardian+Perhaps+you%2527d+like+to+support+us.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="33" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULLBO3BWX5R8tEM4u__wjKx4Igt07OWf4xDW49alnJPizEdplDmtYf1JoHiX13uhI1HHt_4yEV_rsgHPXCjkBUD_21unhaEnaq_eUegNVmtL58R-3uyOl46FQOxz9jeptvo7w7c9JUjGC/s640/Guardian+Perhaps+you%2527d+like+to+support+us.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured image from Guardian.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
You posted a comment that I use ad blocking software, asking if I want to support your website some other way. My thought was, if you want to stop your ongoing attempts at breaking and entering my computer equipment with malicious software, maybe I would allow my computer to display your advertisements. (Actually, I already allow and make a point of viewing responsible advertisements, because I know they help pay for online content.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I don't block all advertising. I only block irresponsible advertising that follows unsafe practices that cause malware to be installed on computers, such as advertisements that link to external sites, that employ user-level tracking (as opposed to classification tracking such as used by Google), or that runs scripts on local machines. Responsible scripts run on servers. Client-side scripts install malware. There is NO LEGITIMATE NEED for client-side scripts on websites, unless the goal is to spy on individuals, or to install malicious software.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Until websites like the Guardian employ responsible non-invasive advertising methods, I will continue to block your advertisements. It would be irresponsible to do anything else. If you will stop breaking these common-sense standards for safe computing, and if you will become a RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISER, then I will see your ads.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="">
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}">
<div class="mtm" style="margin-top: 10px;">
<div class="_6m2 _1zpr clearfix _dcs _4_w4 _59ap" data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" id="u_41_4" style="background-color: white; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14902) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 1px 4px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; z-index: 0; zoom: 1;">
<div class="clearfix _2r3x" style="zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat _ohe" style="float: left; width: 486.667px;">
<span class="_3m6-"><div class="_6ks" style="line-height: 0; position: relative; z-index: 1;">
<a href="http://gu.com/p/3ejnb/sfb" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><div class="_6l- __c_" style="position: relative;">
<div class="uiScaledImageContainer _6m5 fbStoryAttachmentImage" style="background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; height: 255px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 487px;">
<img alt="" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="255" src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQAinx7Ys2RytoUk&w=487&h=255&url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fstatic%2Ficons%2Fsocial%2Fog%2Fgu-logo-fallback.png%3Fw%3D1200%26q%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26sharp%3D10%26s%3D51bdd1b079386ac148fbbcfadf9c2158&cfs=1&upscale=1" style="border: 0px; height: auto; min-height: 100%; position: relative; vertical-align: bottom; width: 487px;" width="487" /></div>
</div>
</a></div>
<div class="_3ekx">
<div class="_6m3" style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: auto; line-height: 10.72px; margin: 10px 12px; max-height: 100px; position: relative;">
<div class="mbs _6m6" style="font-family: Georgia, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 5px; max-height: 110px; overflow: hidden; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out; word-wrap: break-word;">
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgu.com%2Fp%2F3ejnb%2Fsfb&h=UAQHaL8Dv&enc=AZN2Eg9Xgtt9PFpQRN5XIyjoUv6Uv3GdJDKbriVBqmTlO91OQg4zFle0Y_HusH9-xTd08YEDfEKlk9ArlXgr4jFeEkQPhz_tLiQs0QohTri25F133_aTzyKlOrC7qEdCkzciPyFe8KhNrOT4zGjtc-vc0w24t20ShwZn_qeO8bymGmDHwVDd72Mu95aerljuOi8&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #141823; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Contact the Guardian US</a></div>
<div class="_6m7" style="line-height: 16px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden;">
Get in touch with staff and departments at the Guardian's US office in New York</div>
<div class="_59tj" style="padding-top: 9px; position: relative;">
<div class="_6lz _6mb ellipsis" style="color: #9197a3; font-size: 11px; line-height: 11px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap;">
THEGUARDIAN.COM</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="_5tc6" style="color: #9197a3; margin-top: 5px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-16143568378340736482014-10-17T07:53:00.001-07:002014-10-17T08:48:15.169-07:00The Orchard, UMPG, and other fraudulent copyright scammers <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SYXbK4OKxq0" width="459"></iframe><br />
<br />
Obviously, YouTube makes no attempt to investigate the validity of copyright complaints before they take down videos. They took down a video I posted of my Dad singing "O Holy Night," a song written in the mid 1800's, because some publisher claimed copyrights to the song. These false copyright claims should be prosecuted with greater tenacity than actual violations, because they are far more common, and cause far more public harm.<br />
<br />
It is not enough to just dispute individual fraudulent claims. These companies are committing crimes against original artists and against the public domain. Using an automated system is not an excuse for committing the crime of libel. A crime is committed each time a fraudulent claim is published. It is time law enforcement focus on the REAL criminals in the war against the public by Big Media. <br />
<br />
YouTube needs to be included in the lawsuits against The Orchard, UMPG, and any other groups that make fraudulent copyright claims. Copyrights are an EXCEPTION to the legal principle that all information belongs to the public. We have a public library system to ensure that copyrights cannot entrude on the public's right to free access to all information. It is time for the public to stand up to Big Media, and reclaim our rights. Companies that profit over fraudulent copyright violation claims must be sued out of existence, and it is our duty to ensure they don't get by with false copyright claims. Any lawyer out there want to participate in a class action lawsuit in which the "class" is everyone who has ever been prevented from viewing a video due to a fraudulent copyright claim?<br />
<br />
(As I have been working to build a database of specific fraudulent copyright claims, the list of offenders keep growing. Each of the following companies has committed copyright fraud: WMG, SME, Associated Press (AP), UMG, Dow Jones, New York Times Digital, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), The Orchard, Warner Chappell, UMPG Publishing and EMI Music Publishing. The list keeps growing. This is obviously a widespread epidemic of crime against the public.<br />
<br />
As I continue gathering specific reports of fraudulent copyright claims, I am using the following public tags: <a href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23fraudulentclaims">#fraudulentclaims</a> <a href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23bigmediamonopoly">#bigmediamonopoly</a> <a href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23falsecopyrightclaim">#falsecopyrightclaim</a>.)<br />
<br />
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-39836549844284110382014-10-14T10:57:00.001-07:002015-09-29T12:22:58.109-07:00<span style="font-size: x-large;">It doesn't matter</span> how many times Facebook sends this message, I uninstalled the Facebook messenger because it is not secure, and until they take back the changes that make this messenger such a security threat, I won't be re-installing it. If that means I can't receive messages, then so be it. I would rather be safe than sorry.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4b6Kstgsh_Lm7_T1d9_Q0ohJymtNjx4VZBfYZNTcUVZgacvXDlv9-tqoYFTCmXeI0LaU6hbG2oJFIlFNFw6sMzPtzZMbhFqm0U_gu07Ed7ErEd-XhM2hBvZPWO4w8Q1YqD_h3OmQRd-VW/s1600/Facebook+messanger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4b6Kstgsh_Lm7_T1d9_Q0ohJymtNjx4VZBfYZNTcUVZgacvXDlv9-tqoYFTCmXeI0LaU6hbG2oJFIlFNFw6sMzPtzZMbhFqm0U_gu07Ed7ErEd-XhM2hBvZPWO4w8Q1YqD_h3OmQRd-VW/s1600/Facebook+messanger.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(screenshot from my Nexus5 phone)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205169579109089&set=a.1123008805433.2019332.1533497788&type=1"></a><br />
<img src="file:///C:/Users/David/AppData/Local/Temp/enhtmlclip/1606922_10205169579109089_6359822727776993357_n.jpg" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Like· Share</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.lloyd810?fref=ufi"><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/AppData/Local/Temp/enhtmlclip/10306756_10204203409475452_2951296266353017230_n.jpg" /></a><br />
<b><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">David Lloyd</span></b> I have predicted for some time that Facebook's failure to understand the importance of privacy, combined with their treatments of posts as Facebook property rather than the property of those who post (who should be paid for their posts on the basis of the audience it pulls in for Facebook, rather than charged by Facebook for assurance their posts will be seen) will bring about the replacement of Facebook with a social service that understands the rights of those who use their service. I'll be posting to Google+, where the posts are not tampered with by Facebook.<br />
<br />
Facebook is not so big that they can't become another failed attempt like myspace.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><b>David Lloyd</b> </span>Facebook on the PC is still relatively safe, but I have already stopped using their application, choosing to post to Facebook via a third-party application that does not burn up my battery, while it spies and reports on everything I do with my phone. As of this moment, I have decided to uninstall the Facebook application entirely. The public must not allow Facebook or any other software to have that much control over our private information. I'm taking a stand. I encourage other to take a stand also. (This post will also be visible via my "big bad dad" blog.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Reference:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cutlack, G. (2014, August 3). Facebook's compulsory Messenger push angers the commenting horde. Retrieved October 14, 2014. <a href="http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/facebook-s-compulsory-messenger-push-angers-the-commenting-horde-1260017">http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/facebook-s-compulsory-messenger-push-angers-the-commenting-horde-1260017</a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-4894408921239775402014-10-08T09:24:00.002-07:002014-10-08T09:25:33.131-07:00Disposable Diaper Hoax<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="overflow: hidden;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsLzWyzbgAOZI7tM0hNFdPohFVev1kH5IvWh3ze4tlBOLGp4_pZXe_mZEpDlzIe2Ky9BPGbcAxdJgLfRBn8GvsYuf7btv0DjgQE_cCJt3FAIg74iW3kQsf-KRbrTMy2Br0o7pkHB0-Rg/s1600/hoax-no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsLzWyzbgAOZI7tM0hNFdPohFVev1kH5IvWh3ze4tlBOLGp4_pZXe_mZEpDlzIe2Ky9BPGbcAxdJgLfRBn8GvsYuf7btv0DjgQE_cCJt3FAIg74iW3kQsf-KRbrTMy2Br0o7pkHB0-Rg/s1600/hoax-no.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />This is my quick rebuttal of the current disposable diaper danger hoax. <br /><br /><br />There are many good reasons for choosing to use cloth diapers, such as the cost of disposables, tradition, personal preference, and especially ecological reasons (although the energy and chemicals involved in making diapers sterile can also present a challenge to the environment), but concern for your baby's health is NOT a legitimate reason. <br /><br /><br />While cloth diapers, if they are washed, sterilized, and properly rinsed, can be a healthy choice, disposable diapers are always healthier.<br /><br />A survey of advertising propaganda warning of the "dangers" of disposable diapers show that they generally bring up these arguments:<br /><br /><br />1) Disposable diapers contain dioxins, which are known to be harmful, and are a byproduct of bleaching disposable diaper components during manufacture.<br /><br /><br />Response: Cloth diapers, which are bleached to disinfect and to remove stains, contain the same amounts of dioxins, and new unwashed diapers have more. Many brands of disposable diapers have been tested, and none contain the dangerously potent dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin). Exposure to dioxins from disposable diapers is up to 2.2 million times lower than the amounts infants and toddlers get from food or breast milk. (2002)<br /><br /><br />(DO NOT bleach old diapers from a pail that smells like ammonia. Ammonia and bleach are a poisonous combination. Wash the diapers first, to get the ammonia out, then soak them no longer than 30 minutes in a full load with one tablespoon of bleach, then rinse the diapers three times, to ensure all bleach is removed. "Fresh" dirty diapers do not require bleach to sanitize them (unless they have been rinsed in a toilet, in which case they MUST be bleached), but bleach will remove stains. When using bleach with dirty diapers, it is not necessary to rinse them multiple times. The interaction of the bleach with the normal dirt in a load of laundry is adequate to neutralize the bleach, so that one rinse should be adequate. However, if a load of diapers smells like bleach after rinsing, rinse them again.)<br /><br /><br />2) Sodium Polyacrylate is the super-absorbent gel that makes disposable diapers so absorbant, but it has been shown to cause skin irritation, and is believed to be the cause of toxic shock syndrome due to use of the chemical in tampons. These crystals were once used in tampons until they were later removed due to their association with Toxic Shock Syndrome.<br /><br /><br />Response: One of my Facebook friends is the wife of a friend of mine who worked for the USDA laboratory in Peoria, Illinois that originally invented this chemical (in 1976?). He demonstrated the chemical to a Bible study group I attended shortly after I graduated from high school. He took a glass of water, stirred a teaspoon of powder into the water, and talked about the discovery of what he called "super slurper" for a minute or so. Then he turned the glass up-side-down show that although the water appeared the same in the glass, it was actually a gel that remained in the glass.<br /><br /><br />Sodium Polyacrylate ("super-slurper" was the official name eventually given it at the Peoria Illinois USDA laboratory that created it) is a polymer made from cornstarch. The long chains of corn starch molecules prevent the self-limiting effect on absorption that regular corn starch has, due to outer layers of clumps of corn starch creating a barrier that prevents inner layers from absorbing water. In a polymer form, every molecule of corn starch is able to absorb water, resulting in a substance that can absorb up to 300 times its own volume in water. Skin irritation claims are based on warnings to employees in facilities that manufacture the chemical. Immediately after manufacture, its drying power can cause burns by pulling water from skin, but the hydrated crystals used in diapers cannot cause these burns. In fact, Hydrogel® bandages, (1986) made from this same corn starch derivative, and originally for used in hospitals for wound dressings, are now used as bandage adhesive in hospitals providing neonatal care, to prevent damage to infant skin that can be caused by traditional bandage adhesives. (2008) Most of us use products containing Sodium Polyacrylate every day. Super absorbent two-ply paper towels have a layer of Sodium Polyacrylate between the layers of paper. Many foods, such as instant puddings, contain Sodium Polyacrylate. The chemical is used in nursing homes to enable patients who have difficulty drinking without inhaling liquids, to enable their patients to eat an instant flavored gelatin instead. (The loose bonds between molecules of corn starch in Sodium Polyacrylate are quickly broken down by stomach acid, leaving normal corn starch, which is easily digested.)<br /><br /><br />The reason for removing Sodium Polyacrylate from tampons was that the super absorbency made possible by Sodium Polyacrylate resulted in women leaving the tampons in for days at a time, which enabled dangerous bacteria to grow, which was eventually identified as the cause for the toxic shock that killed women in the '80's who used the super-absorbent tampons.<br /><br /><br />3) (Quotation) "A study published in 1999 by Anderson Laboratories, Inc. found that lab mice that were exposed to various brands of disposable diapers experienced asthma-like symptoms, as well as eye, nose and throat irritation. The results demonstrated that some types of disposable diapers emit chemicals that are toxic to the respiratory tract and that disposable diapers should be considered as one of the factors that might cause or exacerbate asthmatic conditions. Exposure to cloth diapers did not cause these symptoms." (Boerum)<br /><br /><br />Response: This pointless and inhumane study (1999), which involved the dissection of hundreds of mice, had nothing to do with the known ability for freshly manufactured Sodium Polyacrylate powder to cause skin and lung damage by burning tissues by absorbing water from them too quickly. (This powder is an intermediate step of the manufacturing process. Water is added to the powder to produce the hydrolyzed crystals found in products manufactured from the pure powder.) The lung and throat irritation that was studied, has to do with trace amounts of gasses that are emitted from all plastics, and many other products such as soaps, deodorants, and shampoos, that are used daily by everyone, and also happen to be found in disposable diapers and to a lessor extent, in cloth diapers that are washed in fragrant detergents.<br /><br /><br />The study involved placing mice in a small sealed container for 100 minutes with a diaper. Three brands of diapers were tested with many mice. A new cloth diaper was also tested, with a control that had nothing in the tank but the mouse, and a sham control with activated charcoal in the tank. The mice with diapers in the tank exhibited breathing distress, but the mouse with the cloth diaper exhibited less distress, with no distress noted for the control or the sham. The mice that had exhibited distress had signs of inflammation in their lungs. The cloth diaper, the control, and the sham also had some inflammation in their lungs, but not nearly as severe as the mice with the disposable diapers. Clearly plastic diapers emit limited levels of irritating fumes. I noted that if a human infant were placed in an equivalent volume of air for an equivalent amount of time, with an equivalent volume of diapers, that he or she might experience similar levels of lung irritation, but one would not expect to store that many diapers in the open air in an air tight room.<br /><br /><br />The study mentioned that diapers that had been washed in commercial laundry detergent with fabric softener could potentially emit higher levels of irritating fumes.(1999) Many other products intended for use with babies also contain potentially irritating fragrances, but the fragrances most likely to cause irritation to infants, are those from cleaning products used to disinfect cribs and mattresses, and the scents added to antiperspirants, deodorants, soaps, and hair care products used by the adults that care for infants. To my knowledge, there are no documented cases other than those involving an allergy to a specific commonly used fragrance, in which babies have been adversely effected by the scents of disposable diapers, but there have been cases documented of infants having adverse reactions to fragrances in the hygienic products their caregivers use.<br /><br /><br />4) One article mentioned that studies show that babies with cloth diapers have fewer incidents with diaper rash than babies with disposable diapers. I had to do some serious searching to find any peer-reviewed medical journal articles that suggested cloth diapers are superior to disposable diapers for diaper rash, but I did record several pages of citations of articles that demonstrated conclusively, that disposable diapers are superior to cloth diapers for preventing and curing diaper rash, all of which were done in controlled hospital neonatal care units. Hundreds of such studies, demonstrated that disposable diapers, changed on a regular schedule, were vastly superior in preventing diaper rash, over cloth diapers changed on the same regular schedule. No hospital studies showed that cloth diapers were more effective than disposable diapers in preventing diaper rash.<br /><br /><br />In studies of babies that already had diaper rash, the use of zinc oxide ointment (Desitin) with a regular changing schedule using disposable diapers, cleared up the diaper rash quickly, while babies in cloth diapers did not recover. In other studies, babies that did not have diaper rash, who were changed on a regular hospital schedule using cloth diapers developed diaper rash, but no babies who were changed on the same schedule with disposable diapers developed a rash. Other studies included bacteria cultures developed from swabs taken from the skin of babies in cloth diapers versus babies in disposable diapers. The cultures taken from cloth diaper babies had vastly greater numbers and varieties of bacteria living on their skin in comparison with babies wearing disposable diapers.<br /><br /><br />Of the two studies I found that showed opposite results, one was a review of the original study, and the original study was done in China, by interviewing parents using a questionnaire. The parents in the study were aware that the Chinese Government prefers the use of cloth diapers, because they cost less than disposable diapers. These people also did not have a variety of brands to choose from, but used inexpensive diapers manufactured by the Chinese State. No information was provided about the composition of those diapers.<br /><br /><br />Babies that wore only cloth diapers were reported to have the fewest cases of diaper rash. Babies whose parents mostly used cloth diapers, but occasionally used disposable diapers for travelling, had nearly the same reported levels of diaper rash, but babies whose parents used exclusively disposable diapers had nearly double the reported cases of diaper rash. The Chinese study did not have controls, depended on the reports of parents who were intimidated by the State's unexplained investigation of their parenting, in an environment in which the parents were aware that the Chinese Government had already decided that cloth diapers were preferred. The chinese study mentioned that there have not been many studies of chinese babies and diaper rash, and suggested that chinese babies may be more susceptible to diaper rash than babies of other races.<br /><br /><br />The original cloth diaper propaganda included the same statement about the rarity of studies, but left out the qualifying word, "Chinese" babies, making the blatantly false statement that there have not been many studies of diaper rash in the context of cloth versus disposable diapers. There have, in fact, been hundreds, if not thousands of such studies comparing cloth diapers with disposable diapers, and the overwhelming majority (I was only able to find one Chinese study that said otherwise) concluded that disposable diapers reduce diaper rash, and associated skin bacteria levels.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />References:<br /><br /><br />Anderson, R. C., & Anderson, J. H. (1999). Acute respiratory effects of diaper emissions. Archives of Environmental Health, 54(5), 353–8. doi:10.1080/00039899909602500<br /><br />Retrieved from <a href="http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost">http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost</a><br /><br /><br />Boerum, L. The harmful chemicals in disposable diapers [Web log message]. Retrieved from <a href="http://awesomebeginnings4children.com/the-harmful-chemicals-in-disposable-diapers/">http://awesomebeginnings4children.com/the-harmful-chemicals-in-disposable-diapers/</a><br /><br /><br />Counts, J., Helmes, C., Kenneally, D., & Otts, D. (2014). Modern Disposable Diaper Construction Innovations in Performance Help Maintain Healthy Diapered Skin. Clinical Pediatrics. Retrieved from<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcpj.sagepub.com%2Fcontent%2F53%2F9_suppl%2F10S.short&h=wAQESOn_Y&enc=AZPOnBvIcWMKI-4JB5dyb101rNKsggRiPArs1DMF4-wI-eK9KVjQJBj3vBeLibqNz7mxRZbnZp2Fr1RQLwgFBfQ4sLJORmjrXmRH3DTPcW7NUubDSPOJAqGVjBv5Sz71jMl3UgF-tmaeeiqZUkXJ7vcb&s=1&skip_shim_verification=1">http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/53/9_suppl/10S.short</a><br /><br /><br />DeVito, M. J., & Schecter, A. (2002). Exposure assessment to dioxins from the use of tampons and diapers. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(1), 23–8. Retrieved from<a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1240689&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1240689&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a><br /><br /><br />Heimall, L. M., Storey, B., Stellar, J. J., & Davis, K. F. (2012). Beginning at the bottom: evidence-based care of diaper dermatitis. MCN: American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 37(1), 10–16. doi:10.1097/NMC.0b013e31823850ea<br /><br />Retrieved from<a href="http://journals.lww.com/mcnjournal/Abstract/2012/01000/Beginning_at_the_Bottom__Evidence_Based_Care_of.3.aspx">http://journals.lww.com/mcnjournal/Abstract/2012/01000/Beginning_at_the_Bottom__Evidence_Based_Care_of.3.aspx</a><br /><br /><br />Kickhöfen, B., Wokalek, H., Scheel, D., & Ruh, H. (1986). Chemical and physical properties of a hydrogel wound dressing. Biomaterials, 7(1), 67–72. doi:10.1016/0142-9612(86)90092-X<br /><br /><br />Li, C., Zhu, Z., & Dai, Y. (2012). Diaper Dermatitis: A Survey of Risk Factors for Children Aged 1 - 24 Months in China. Journal of International Medical Research, 40(5), 1752–1760. doi:10.1177/030006051204000514<br /><br /><br />Rai, P., Marsman, D., & Felter, S. (2010). Dermal Safety Evaluation: Use of Disposable Diaper Products in the Elderly. Textbook of Aging Skin. Retrieved from <a href="http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-540-89656-2_82">http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-540-89656-2_82</a><br /><br /><br />Shanmugasundaram, O. L., & Gowda, R. V. M. (2010). Development and characterization of bamboo and organic cotton fibre blended [disposable] baby diapers. Indian Journal of Fibre & …. Retrieved from<a href="http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/10217">http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/10217</a><br /><br /><br />Sharpe, Elizabeth L. (2008) Tiny Patients, Tiny Dressings. Advances in Neonatal Care 8(3).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.b.ebscohost.com%2Fehost&h=zAQFZ_I9T&s=1">EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page</a><br /><br /><br />WEB.B.EBSCOHOST.COM<br /><br /><a href="http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.lloyd810/posts/10205089137738105#">Like</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.lloyd810/posts/10205089137738105#">Like</a> · · <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/sharer/?s=99&appid=2309869772&p%5B0%5D=1533497788&p%5B1%5D=10205089137738105&share_source_type=unknown">Share</a><br /> <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.lloyd810?fref=ufi"><img src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-1/c0.5.48.48/p48x48/10306756_10204203409475452_2951296266353017230_n.jpg?oh=99a26b41e8391539fd82ba2e8232823f&oe=54C2C462&__gda__=1421259438_68f8f243e7b9a66856abbd74db138717" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.lloyd810?fref=ufi">David Lloyd</a> The best disposable diapers, which also contain Sodium Polyacrylate, are the ones made from a combination of bamboo pulp (instead of paper, which is made from wood pulp) and cotton (2010, Shanmugasundaram & Gowda). Cloth diaper inserts made from bamboo, cotton, and Sodium Polyacrylate, can be used to make cloth diapers more absorbent, but these diapers must still be changed as frequently as any other diapers to avoid potentially deadly infections, which was the reason for removing Sodium Polyacrylate from tampons. The super absorbency resulted in women leaving the tampons in for days, which enabled dangerous bacteria to grow, which was eventually identified as the cause for the toxic shock that killed women in the '80's who used the super-absorbent tampons, and not the tampons or the Sodium Polyacrylate.</div>
<div id="u_jsonp_7_a" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10.2399997711182px;">
<form action="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/ufi/modify.php" class="live_10205089137738105_316526391751760 commentable_item autoexpand_mode" data-ft="{"tn":"]"}" data-live="{"seq":0}" id="u_jsonp_7_7" method="post" rel="async" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="uiUfi UFIContainer _5pc9 _5vsj _5v9k" id="u_jsonp_7_9" style="background-color: #f6f7f8; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; margin: 8px -12px -12px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<ul class="UFIList" data-reactid=".19" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="UFIRow UFIFirstComment UFIFirstCommentComponent UFIFirstComponent UFIComment display UFIComponent UFIUnseenItem" data-ft="{"tn":"R"}" data-reactid=".19.1:3:1:$comment10205089137738105_10205106259726144:0" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(225, 226, 227); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 12px 4px; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word;">
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</form>
</div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-61415143862625591222014-10-02T18:40:00.002-07:002014-10-02T18:40:45.130-07:00The FCC no longer protects public access to information, no longer protects individual rights over corporate rights, and consequently has no legitimate purposeAfter advertising that the switch to digital television would result in more channels and perfect reception for most people, the FCC's own pre-deadline testing revealed that the majority of rural television viewers, especially those who due to local buildings and terrain received primarily reflected signals that were acceptable quality with analog signals would have no reception of digital signals due to a decision not to use a digital format that allowed for error correction or scaling of resolution to resolve digital noise issues. For the most part, the public has remained silent about the FCC's elimination of free broadcast television for the majority of the nation. Official FCC documents still claim that most people can get reception by finely adjusting the position of a digital (amplified) antenna suspended 30 feet above their homes. Exactly how is the average citizen supposed to be able to play with fine-tuning the location of a 30-foot antenna? What are they supposed to do when new construction changes that positional tuning?<br />
<br />
Essentially, the FCC eliminated free broadcast television for the majority of the nation, by only ensuring reception is available in the suburbs of large cities, where less than 20% of the Nation's population reside.<br />
<br />
Worse, the public has not complained, because the majority of us succombed to pay television a long time ago. Why is the public so quick to allow their property to be taken away? The legal theory behind regulation of the airwaves is to ensure the availability of public broadcast information, and to prevent the monopolization of these limited resources by a few wealthy broadcasters, yet the FCC's recent actions seem to do the opposite, encouraging monopolistic behavior of a few large cable companies that control how information is received by the nation. The FCC's policy is contrary to public interest. The FCC is no longer serving its primary purpose, and needs to be junked and replaced with a system that is responsive first, to the needs of individual citizens. Big media does not need to be protected, but individuals need Government protection from big media.David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-4461590855895511732014-09-24T16:06:00.001-07:002014-09-24T16:07:53.384-07:00Supreme Court favored big media instead of the public interest <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Posted elsewhere with regard to the US Supreme Court's recent Aereo ruling against the public interest in support of Big Media's campaign to force pay television on the public.)<br /><br />I think the Supreme Court helped Big Media in its ongoing battle to eliminate free television, and to destroy creativity by making the manipulation of audience habits a priority over providing useful information and quality entertainment. Despite FCC propaganda, digital television took away access to broadcast television to possibly up to 80% of the rural US population, and claims that perfect placement of a 30-foot amplified antenna can provide reception doesn't help disabled people like me who cannot afford pay television, and only needed a loop antenna to get reception prior to the forced change. I'm angry that this low-cost option of a rental antenna has been taken away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think we need to require all broadcasters to stream their content online, or provide free local cable service to all homes that can no longer receive broadcast television. The only alternative I can see would be new legislation to override this foolish and dangerous ruling by the US Supreme Court, specifically encouraging the growth of the rental television antenna industry. I also think a legislative response would be appropriate to punish monopolistic organizations such as CBS, which threatened to stop broadcasting if the Aereo case was resolved in favor of the public. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Media's gradual destruction of free access to information is a danger to democracy. Aereo and similar companies could have served to protect the public from their excesses, but now it has become the responsibility of our legislature to shut down the media behemoth. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The control it exerts over the entertainment industry by demanding high viewership by specific demographic groups has destroyed quality content, and this trend of Government support of this dangerous monopoly must be stopped.</span>David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-19153046073283241842014-08-31T11:19:00.001-07:002014-08-31T11:22:45.493-07:00The last handicapped parking spot<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXLTZtB6a3KRfDtiJ4A64pe9zgaTuq1_uCA1uJPSiwoYgXAlBwGTpZYO05JptB3Y6_1y0XHhtWjlAk2tKLQik7i9TQVHbr4FBgy7sxlammPVKeqgsTbE578NTiZusSEkZ6asKCGInfTt8/s1600/not_handicapped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXLTZtB6a3KRfDtiJ4A64pe9zgaTuq1_uCA1uJPSiwoYgXAlBwGTpZYO05JptB3Y6_1y0XHhtWjlAk2tKLQik7i9TQVHbr4FBgy7sxlammPVKeqgsTbE578NTiZusSEkZ6asKCGInfTt8/s1600/not_handicapped.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A few minutes ago</b></span>, feeling a bit guilty about taking the second-to-last handicapped parking space (I'm under a knee specialist's orders not to do any unnecessary walking, because he thinks I am too young for the knee replacement he says I need, and he doesn't want the new one to wear out before I do. He has also told me to use a walker, which I refuse to do choosing instead, to use my shopping cart as a sort of rolling crutch.). I was feeling guilty because I took the spot closest to the store, when I know there are other people who have more difficulty than I do. Just then, as I was getting out of the car, another vehicle pulled into the last handicapped spot, and yet somehow the driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, RAN across the parking lot before I had fully finished getting out of my car. Angry, I checked to see whether the vehicle had a disabled driver lanyard or a disability license plate. It had neither, but it did have a PBS television station advertisement on the side of the vehicle. Angry, I got out my cell phone with the intention of taking a photo of the vehicle in the handicapped parking spot, with a view of both the license plate, and a view of where the lanyard would be, if there had been one. It was my intention to also take a panoramic shot of all the empty "regular" parking spaces in the parking lot, but in the bright sunlight, I couldn't see the screen to make that selection. Then, when I got home, I accidently deleted the photo of the van with it's non-disability plate, parked in the disabled-only parking space. The last thing I remembered seeing as I pressed the delete button instead of the share button that was right next to it, was admiring how the blue paint of the reserved parking space stood out so well for the purpose of my photo. I recently turned off the "trash bin" feature on my phone because I never use it, and my free space on the phone is limited, and I deleted it too soon for my auto-backup software to copy it. I decided it must have been providential that I accidently deleted the photo.<br />
<br />
After all, it only seems fair to warn people of my intentions before I do it. In addition, this is Blueberry Festival time, when parking spaces are hard to find, and people park illegally all over town (although there were plenty of empty parking spaces where I was.)<br />
<br />
So, all of you illegal handicapped parking space stealers, I'm onto you, and the next time I catch you taking a handicapped parking space, expect to see a time-stamped photo of your car, with the blue paint on the pavement, and the handicapped parking sign, along with your license plate number published on my blog, and on Google+, and on Facebook, where everyone can see it. If there are other spaces available that you COULD have taken instead, expect to see a second panoramic photo showing those options you could have chosen instead! It's not libel if its factual. You have been warned.<br />
<br />
Image adapted from:<br />
<br />
<i>Not handicapped.</i> N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 31 Aug 2014. <a href="http://www.jeffpearlman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/not_handicapped.jpg">http://www.jeffpearlman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/not_handicapped.jpg</a><br />
<br />
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-36471793663141400672014-08-14T07:36:00.002-07:002014-08-22T07:46:20.143-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://lewisvilletexan.com/xoops/uploads/img53036290219bf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lewisvilletexan.com/xoops/uploads/img53036290219bf.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
Today, August 22, 2014, I am posting this final draft of my comment to the FCC about the proposed merger between Comcast and Time-Warner. On August 14th, I published a rough draft for my letter to the FCC regarding the proposed merger. I requested comments and suggestions about how to make my letter more effective. I did not receive any posted comments in reply to my request, but I did receive a couple of private comments, which I considered. <br /><br />As before, I request that all of you write to the FCC to express your concerns about this merger. The deadline for public comment is Monday, August 25, 2014 (FCC, 2014)<br />
<br />
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/<br />
<br />
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. Filings may be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.<br />
<br />
All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St., SW, Room TW-A325,<br />
<br />
Reference:<br />
<br />
FCC. Federal Communications Commission, (2014). Commission seeks comment on applications of comcast corporation, time warner cable inc., charter communications, inc., and spinco to assign and transfer control of fcc licenses and other authorizations mb docket no. 14-57 (DA 14-986, Docket No. 14-57). Retrieved from website: http://www.fcc.gov/<br />
<br />
-------------------------<br />
This is an open letter, published to my blog at http://bigbaddad01.blogspot.com/<br />
<br />
Comcast's abysmal and consistent nation-wide reputation for poor customer service is evidence of monopolistic behavior. Consequently, I cannot imagine any concessions that could be demanded from Comcast that would eliminate the need for anti-trust action against the company, and I certainly cannot imagine any circumstance that would justify allowing Comcast to grow larger when most rural areas across the country, which account for 87%* of this country's population, already have no alternative for high-speed internet service other than Comcast or Time-Warner.<br />
<br />
Many of Comcast's customers have no other company to turn to when faced with the arbitrary and cruel customer service personnel Comcast cultivates with its incentive programs that reward employees for not remedying fraudulent charges.** Comcast is the only realistic provider of internet services in much of the country, and in areas where there are more than one provider, Time-Warner is most commonly the only alternative high-speed internet provider.<br />
<br />
While I have no personal experience with Time-Warner, I have read enough negative information about the company over the years to realize the company is second only to Comcast for its reputation for abysmal customer service. A merger between these two juggernauts should not be under consideration at all. Rather, the issue at hand ought to be how to best address abuses by both monopolies.<br />
-------------------------<br />
<br />
*13% of the US population live in cities and suburbs with combined populations of 500,000 or more, according to the 2010 census.<br />
<br />
** I personally have years of telephone recordings that can document Comcast's consistent malevolent treatment of customers, its disregard for commitments made to customers, and its attempts to "negotiate" out of getting sued for its routine policy of fraudulent treatment of customers, which can also be demonstrated by all of the public recordings of customer interactions with Comcast that can be viewed by anyone on You-Tube and similar public media streams. These recordings also document comments by Comcast customer service that indicate Comcast penalizes customer service representatives for providing refunds, regardless of the validity of claims against Comcast.<br />
-------------------------<br />
<br />
See also:<br />
<br />
Seven pages of Comcast Customer-uploaded videos of their horrific experiences with Comcast customer service (I have not uploaded any of my own recordings, but I've been storing recordings of these conversations on Evernote for years.)<br />
<br />
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=comcast+customer+service<br />
<br />
Similar yet much more vulgar recordings exist for Time-Warner's customer service. Due to the graphic nature of some of those recordings, I chose not to include a link to those recordings.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.neontommy.com/sites/default/files/comcast-time-warner-cable-company-south-park-meme.jpg?1393369148" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.neontommy.com/sites/default/files/comcast-time-warner-cable-company-south-park-meme.jpg?1393369148" height="458" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-16736728670970121032014-08-09T20:23:00.002-07:002014-08-09T20:24:37.074-07:00Angry with Amazon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.spypenhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Illinois_Tax_no_amazon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.spypenhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Illinois_Tax_no_amazon1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I am angry. All I wanted to do was to get a quick idea of what a gift idea would cost on Amazon. They had a lot of selections, so I narrowed the selection to items with free shipping. Then I selected order by lowest to highest price. Then I waded through 12 screens without seeing one example of the kind of item I was searching for. The item I was looking for should have cost about $100, which would have been more than I was willing to pay, but I was hoping I would find an item for just above $20. I realize that's unlikely, but I thought I would check to see if it was possible. However, after 12 screens of items that had nothing to do with my search, and the price and gradually gone up to $4.00, I got got angry. I'll find some other retailer that won't waste my time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wordstream.com/images/amazon-consumer-reviews.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wordstream.com/images/amazon-consumer-reviews.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-19544857236312384362014-07-28T10:09:00.006-07:002014-07-28T10:09:48.401-07:00A smarter way to fight drug abuseI have made a number of posts and comments supporting legalization of drugs. A friend pointed out to me that to legalize certain drugs has the effect of endorsing the use of those drugs. This is why our Government should never exceed it's authority to begin with. Our Government should not be in the business of regulating the details of individual lives. However, that's all on the level of political ideals, and does not take reality into account.<br />
<br />
Just so people understand my view, I do not endorse the use of mood-altering substances without the guidance and supervision of a physician (but please leave my coffee alone!)<br />
<br />
For those of you who love to read as much as I love to express myself....<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I intend to stop using terms like "legalization" to describe my view that there is a smarter way to fight drug abuse. It has bothered me that the term "legalization" appears to put a stamp of approval on drug use. That has never been my view. However I believe we can adopt a smarter response to drug trafficking, that does not indiscriminately deprive the sick of essential medicines just because they are manufactured from substances that can be abused, and that does not treat victim-users the same as the criminals who market, manufacture, and distribute deadly substances that should NEVER be legalized.<br />
<br />
When I have made longer posts on this topic, I have argued for the legalization of specific non-intoxicating marijuana extracts, while expressing ambivalence about legalization of raw Marijuana. I have argued for the death penalty for marketing, manufacture, and distribution of dangerous drugs, while suggesting the Government allow restricted use of some of the less dangerous drugs under supervised conditions, to eliminate the desirability of the most destructive drugs, while eliminating the profit from black-market distribution of the somewhat less dangerous drugs.<br />
<br />
My idea has been to give addicts what they crave short-term, and under supervision, to protect the public from them while they are high, and hopefully also to eventually them get off of the drugs.<br />
<br />
My rationale for suggesting Government provide access to these harmful drugs is that no one prefers meth over cocaine, except for economic reasons. I want to take the profit out of distributing those drugs, and also out of distributing the destructive substitutes that have been created as a response to restricted supplies of the less dangerous drugs. Essentially, I'm arguing that our Government should end the black market by competing with the black market. Make the drug trade unprofitable. I know my idea feels empty from the standpoint of justice, for the victims of illegal drugs, but I do believe it would put a permanent end to the marketing (pushing) of these drugs.David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-27265302692687318282014-07-26T03:45:00.002-07:002014-07-26T07:17:28.062-07:00FACEBOOK! STOP DELETING MY POSTS!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
(copied from my post to Google+, which I also posted to my Facebook account)<br /><br />Another reason to use Google+ I just wish I could automate syncing between platforms so my Blog posts would be on both Google+ and Facebook (until Facebook removes them).<br /><br />Not only does Facebook NOT PAY people to post to their home pages, but they ask US to pay if we want people to see our posts! <br /><br />That's a show of BAD FAITH, and it will be the reason Facebook doesn't exist in 15 years. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7GhZPYV5r0/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAgpE/cRVZfW1q3Bw/w557-h334-p/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7GhZPYV5r0/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAgpE/cRVZfW1q3Bw/w557-h334-p/photo.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
<b>FACEBOOK! STOP DELETING MY POSTS!!!!</b></div>
<div>
<b><br />I WILL find a way to make my posts stay, so that every time you delete my posts, the incident will be documented. Then I will repost the deleted post with the evidence of your crime!</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Obviously we can't trust Facebook with our writing, so Facebook is going to start getting copies of what I write elsewhere. Meanwhile, I have a lot of writing that cost me many hours to create, that I NEED for my TBI resources project, and I will sue Facebook if they cannot return the items they stole from me. I have posted this previously, but I should probably post it regularly. I claim ownership and copyrights to all of what I have written on Facebook. Using material I have posted, including deleting material I have posted, without my permission, and without notifying me, and acknowledging me as the author is illegal, and may prompt legal action.</div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-46015703230116978252014-07-24T18:00:00.000-07:002014-07-24T19:54:48.242-07:00Why engines should be kept clean<div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I learned something today....</b></span> In retrospect, I should be embarrassed that I learned it today. It should have been the kind of thing everyone knows. Worse, it probably IS the kind of thing everyone knows, but I wasn't listening before today. I've even heard other people say it before, but I thought of it as a nice idea, but not basic essential: engines should be kept clean, and the first step to working on an engine, whether it's a car or a lawn mower, is to clean it, if it's not clean. </div>
<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;" />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">The reason I finally understood this simple principle, is that I read it in my lawn mower's owner's manual today. Consequently, I actually thought about the benefits of keeping an engine clean. When working on a clean engine, it's much easier to avoid accidentally getting dirt into the engine. An even more basic reason for keeping it clean, is to avoid wear and tear. How many times have I waited to do work on a car or a lawn mower because the job would be too dirty? How many times have I taken more time than necessary when I did work on a car, because I couldn't see what I was doing, couldn't read labels, or got dirt on my glasses? Years ago I kept engines clean because my wife wanted everything clean. At the time I thought it was unnecessary, but anything that made her happy made me happy, so I kept my vehicle engines clean. However, over time, I got lazy, because I have never reasoned out the value of a clean engine. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Now I know.</b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">---------------------------------------</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Reasons to keep an engine clean</b></span></div>
<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">It's more pleasant to work on a clean engine.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">It reduces the effort of working on an engine.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Reduced effort translates to less time spent, and less money spent.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">A cleaning routine serves as a maintenance reminder.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Fluid leaks are easy to detect when an engine is clean.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Dirt is less likely to get into the engine when the surface of the engine is clean.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">A clean engine may run slightly cooler.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<h4>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma;">---------------------------------------</b></h4>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></b></div>
<h4>
</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EojyXMDbqoAXg2uhZUdz7UvEhapAwd3ovwBgOxqOvBuBMrlvbynkSCdgwkfi9p-wyj7npfjV37aL6LBQzEB1nRVuMLiVcjvU_c6SORECOsvFgOtGt7Lp-ewPN81jCTqwEjkXbLmhBaXf/s1600/caution.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EojyXMDbqoAXg2uhZUdz7UvEhapAwd3ovwBgOxqOvBuBMrlvbynkSCdgwkfi9p-wyj7npfjV37aL6LBQzEB1nRVuMLiVcjvU_c6SORECOsvFgOtGt7Lp-ewPN81jCTqwEjkXbLmhBaXf/s1600/caution.gif" height="198" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /><br /><span style="color: orange;">Caution</span></b></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Do NOT get water into electronic parts, into the air filter, or into any of the fluid reservoirs. Cover the air filter, electrical connections, and fluid reservoir caps with plastic before spraying an engine with water. DO NOT spray COLD water on a HOT engine!</span></span></h4>
<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /><br /><br /><br />---------------------------------------</b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /><b><br />How to keep an engine clean</b><br /><br />Keeping an engine clean is easier than cleaning a dirty engine. Follow a weekly routine to wipe off the engine with a damp rag, and to check the oil and other fluids. There are a number of reputable commercial products for cleaning oily build-up, including foam cleaners for light cleaning, and gel cleaners for extreme cases. <br /><br />Spraying an engine with high pressure water may cause damage. </span><b style="font-family: Tahoma;">DO NOT spray COLD water on a HOT engine! </b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">If spraying an engine at a car wash, use a hot low-pressure soap, rinse with low-pressure hot water, and BE SURE to cover the air filter, electrical connections, and fluid reservoir caps with plastic before spraying an engine with water. After cleaning, remove plastic, and run the engine gently for a few minutes afterward, to evaporate the remaining water.</span></div>
<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;" />
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
</span></div>
David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-24873673657546544962014-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:002014-04-13T15:17:11.397-07:00Wendy Thomas v. Morgan Smith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xjCG4L7JhALzgXm0A5OwntmIjWvcfLVHNfP4rgulovUqSkbxr0VPEm3lmQ0Z36AZgvrOAd38tvGM_qgHZsMZfHM8yH6J5l9fGz8hOXdFhNdq8JqRKY9i43KWVd3NGuyLORLEOdzCq6oX/s1600/wendy-thomas-morgan-smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xjCG4L7JhALzgXm0A5OwntmIjWvcfLVHNfP4rgulovUqSkbxr0VPEm3lmQ0Z36AZgvrOAd38tvGM_qgHZsMZfHM8yH6J5l9fGz8hOXdFhNdq8JqRKY9i43KWVd3NGuyLORLEOdzCq6oX/s1600/wendy-thomas-morgan-smith.jpg" height="188" width="600" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: none; margin-right: 1px; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><div>
<div style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">
<b>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Melinda Lou "Wendy" Morse Morgan Smith Goodwin </span></b><span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 14.399999618530273px;">
(</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;">born September 14, 1961) </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;">(born August 18, 1985)</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: medium; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"><b>Namesake</b> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s" style="background-image: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-decoration: none;" title="Wendy's">Wendy's</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"> hamburger chain. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;"> The face of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s#Advertising" style="background-image: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Wendy's">Wendy's Restaurants</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;">'</span></span></span><br />
<i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;"><b> Now That's Better</b></i> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 21px;">Adv. Campaign</span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span -webkit-auto="" 14px="" 21px="" 2="" arial="" elvetica="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" neue="" orphans:="" sans-serif="" text-align:="" widows:=""><br />
</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Both "Wendys" are featured in commercials for the Wendy's chain of restaurants.
</span></span><br />
<div>
<span -webkit-auto="" 14px="" 21px="" 2="" arial="" elvetica="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" neue="" orphans:="" sans-serif="" text-align:="" widows:=""><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: inherit; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 251.15pt;" valign="top" width="419"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt;"><table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r492HatJUaM/U0ree3uBuCI/AAAAAAAAg3Q/R-t1l3q-lsw/s1600/eight-year-old-wendy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r492HatJUaM/U0ree3uBuCI/AAAAAAAAg3Q/R-t1l3q-lsw/s1600/eight-year-old-wendy.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Eight-year-old Wendy Thomas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YIGhuYD815A/U0red23LzVI/AAAAAAAAg2w/KLH73nCqnPQ/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YIGhuYD815A/U0red23LzVI/AAAAAAAAg2w/KLH73nCqnPQ/s1600/Image.jpg" height="320" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Clara "Where'sthe Beef" Peller aka "Old Wendy"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 3.0pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 227.65pt;" valign="top" width="379"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JnV3cVhcWM/U0red7uMK6I/AAAAAAAAg2o/MyZaEJohqZA/s1600/Image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JnV3cVhcWM/U0red7uMK6I/AAAAAAAAg2o/MyZaEJohqZA/s1600/Image.png" height="166" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Wendy's Logo, based on eight-year-old Wendy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-uQImsi_RQ/U0refe5EQ-I/AAAAAAAAg3Y/9eV2wVQUTjg/s1600/wendy-as-wendy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-uQImsi_RQ/U0refe5EQ-I/AAAAAAAAg3Y/9eV2wVQUTjg/s1600/wendy-as-wendy.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Wendy dressed as Wendy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">...both eat there, but the actress eats their salads...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGGNkrsvHBuZzoY_w9lui4Xwb-zpR_0znp3JwP_osJg6pwe1V5YcbcSByowNu8L_GX5qMTw26990cuWwbOOShEEfqFq5gAR_hRxfEo1Mhnra2jm-ruUtrzpvgsdWmkZqrXU_mTHNftzQ-/s1600/actress_eats_salads.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGGNkrsvHBuZzoY_w9lui4Xwb-zpR_0znp3JwP_osJg6pwe1V5YcbcSByowNu8L_GX5qMTw26990cuWwbOOShEEfqFq5gAR_hRxfEo1Mhnra2jm-ruUtrzpvgsdWmkZqrXU_mTHNftzQ-/s1600/actress_eats_salads.png" height="326" width="484" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEHQWLfG8mqHvuZVo4pEhVIAqq61N0UUoQJGRhContjrv986HTD0DqCSzWicmdiEIcfrO7T4e4gVq20a-FUgyyncFDd67Nog_UHLXn8rr6bGPAaCVEhKuHt7R29XFm9KnDa124C9SwZk1/s1600/father_daughter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEHQWLfG8mqHvuZVo4pEhVIAqq61N0UUoQJGRhContjrv986HTD0DqCSzWicmdiEIcfrO7T4e4gVq20a-FUgyyncFDd67Nog_UHLXn8rr6bGPAaCVEhKuHt7R29XFm9KnDa124C9SwZk1/s1600/father_daughter.png" height="305" width="482" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5rnF-zDJS90/U0reeaD4T3I/AAAAAAAAg3A/bwTrcAIp0G4/s1600/Wendy_eats_cheeseburger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5rnF-zDJS90/U0reeaD4T3I/AAAAAAAAg3A/bwTrcAIp0G4/s1600/Wendy_eats_cheeseburger.png" height="584" width="792" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-uQImsi_RQ/U0refe5EQ-I/AAAAAAAAg3Y/9eV2wVQUTjg/s1600/wendy-as-wendy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YIGhuYD815A/U0red23LzVI/AAAAAAAAg2w/KLH73nCqnPQ/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JnV3cVhcWM/U0red7uMK6I/AAAAAAAAg2o/MyZaEJohqZA/s1600/Image.png" with "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JnV3cVhcWM/U0red7uMK6I/AAAAAAAAg2o/MyZaEJohqZA/s1600/Image.png" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F--JnV3cVhcWM%2FU0red7uMK6I%2FAAAAAAAAg2o%2FMyZaEJohqZA%2Fs1600%2FImage.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JnV3cVhcWM/U0red7uMK6I/AAAAAAAAg2o/MyZaEJohqZA/s1600/Image.png" -->David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455863062539788003.post-3399699692835227502013-12-02T19:00:00.001-08:002013-12-02T19:00:43.294-08:00"You Are Not Alone" : a message from the Brain Injury Association of Ame...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_iOTFQzVcD4" width="480"></iframe>David Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01765301393412490685noreply@blogger.com0