It’s my pleasure to think of Ronna Burger when I see Jean Stapleton, and here she is: https://youtu.be/fa1dZpO0fFM
I loved her. I can’t remember the first time I heard her speaking as herself, but it was a revelation about acting for childhood me.
Missing from the available store of mass entertainment is a comprehensive biopic of Desi Arnaz, precise as possible and covering every phase of his life. (Lucy would be there, but not the focus; he lived a third of his life before he met her and another third after their business collaboration ceased).
== https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbi_TyBzQkU
There is a wonderful character role in the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Mrs. Maisel is roughly a portrayal of Joan Rivers early life. In the show she meets another woman comedian played by Jane Lynch. Lynch’s character, Sophie Lennon, does this slap stick comedy routine and her performance character is something of a rube. That is how we first see her, repeatedly.
Then Mrs. Maisel goes to visit Ms. Lennon at her home. The contrast couldn’t be greater. Her home is sumptuous and has fine art. Lennon’s presentation is almost that of a British aristocrat, including her voice. Although it’s not exactly a British accent.
It’s a shock to Mrs. Maisel who is essentially putting her actual life on display for laughs.
“Chinese toymaker fined for spying on kids”
The court order requires Apitor to stop collecting data on children without first directly notifying parents and obtaining consent. It also imposed a $500,000 civil penalty, but the fine was suspended because the company said it could not pay, the Justice Department said in a statement.
[…]
While Apitor markets itself internationally as an education company and toy manufacturer, its parent entity, Shenzhen Zhihou, has extensive links to security and ideological education projects in China, according to China specialist L.J. Eads.
So Rand Paul and Murkowski (?) both want more drugs in the US. Even Collins voted to destroy the drug boats. What is wrong with these two? Hatred of Trump? Ego? No, not principles.
Rand Paul is a consistent libertarian with isolationist tendencies. Murkowski’s being difficult because she is or she’s jonesing for some payoff (‘Cornhusker kickback’, ‘Louisiana purchase’ &c).
https://instapundit.com/749703/#disqus_thread
==
Katie Porter grew up in Iowa in a farm family, surprisingly enough. Some man agreed to marry her and sired three children by her, surprisingly enough. Not so surprising is the occupation she followed before being elected to Congress; she was a law professor.
Should Americans be taxed to breed weasels?
==
The Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government has many a small data table where ‘Grants, Subsidies, and Contributions’ are specified. Absent emergencies (e.g. those triggering disaster relief), the quantum of public funds expended on ‘Grants, Subsidies, and Contributions’ to private corporate bodies and persons with institutional addresses should sum to $0. The quantum forwarded to local governments should be limited to payment-in-lieu-of-property taxes on federal real estate, which remittances would be part of the locality’s general revenues. The quantum forwarded to state (and territorial) governments should be limited to grants to finance (1) Medicaid, (2) unemployment compensation, (3) maintenance of long-haul Interstate highways, and (4) undifferentiated expenditure. This last in sum should be directly related to a state’s population, directly related to employee compensation per worker in the state, and inversely related to a states personal income per capita. Aid to foreign governments outside of emergencies should be in the form of services, equipment, or credits to buy equipment. Picking inter-governmental agencies to finance should be quite selective (hint, UNESCO would not be on the list).
==
Stop the embezzlement. Get the philanthropic sector and the educational sector off the federal dole.
Art Deco,
Not a biopic, but I recently read a positive review of this new book somewhere:
This is serious. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 by 10/15. I have been working on my strategy.
The issue is that Microsoft requires very recent hardware for the Windows 11 upgrade. Many millions of Windows 10 machines won’t meet that requirement. Which means, no security updates and Windows 10 machines are sitting ducks for new security exploits.
Nor will Windows 10 users be able to download the Windows 10 reinstall/repair software. (Though that might change.)
First I downloaded Windows ISOs for Windows 10, so I can repair/reinstall Windows 10.
I downloaded the Windows 11 ISO so I could upgrade my laptop which qualifies for Windows 11, which I did.
But I have also been investigating Linux as an off-ramp from Windows. It’s free and open source.
Every couple years I check out the Linux state of the art. For most of its history Linux has been user-hostile. But some of the Linux distros have been steadily improving.
I am quite impressed the current Linux Mint Cinnamon. It’s painless to install on most Windows hardware. It’s close to the Windows user interface. It really seems to work. Keep it in mind as a possibility.
I’ve never liked Microsoft or Windows all that much. I may jump ship.
If you’re on Windows 10, you might consider your options.
Huxley, thanks for the heads-up & reminder about Windows 10!
It’s so unfortunate that big tech co’s can sorta force people to upgrade, or risk a multitude of big computer woes.
I feel similarly about cellphones, though that’s usually a smaller problem.
The embattled election vendor has new ownership and new branding. Scott Leiendecker, a Missouri tech entrepreneur and former Republican director of the St. Louis City Board of Elections, bought the company for an undisclosed amount.
Excited yet? You should be.
“As of today, Dominion is gone. Liberty Vote assumes full ownership and operational control,” a press release announcing the sale revealed.
…
“Leiendecker says he wants to use the renamed company to restore public confidence in the US electoral process. Liberty Now also vows to be bipartisan as it works to reshape Dominion’s image. Dominion’s election products were used by millions of US voters across 27 states last year,” reports CNN. “Dominion’s founder and CEO, John Poulos, confirmed in a one-sentence statement provided to CNN on Thursday that, ‘Liberty Vote has acquired Dominion Voting Systems.’”
Leiendecker added, “Liberty Vote is committed to delivering election technology that prioritizes paper-based transparency, security, and simplicity so that voters can be assured that every ballot is filled-in accurately and fairly counted.”
Naturally, CNN is hitting the panic button.
Bought by a man who appears to believe in putting Trump’s policies about elections into action.
Let’s wish him success!
Huxley, et. al.,
To officially qualify for Windows 11, your computer needs a processor from 2018 or newer—specifically, Intel 8th Gen, AMD Zen 2, or later.
This isn’t really “very recent hardware”.
Obviously, there are some other requirements as well, including TPM V2, and UEFI, but these attributes have been available on most PCs for years.
No-one wants to discard old hardware, but we do it all the time with cellphones: Most modern cell phones are supported for 2-5 years, and at that point become ineligible for security or OS updates. So, most people upgrade to a new phone.
You can get a Windows 11 PC with 16 GB memory / 512 GB SSD for about $149, far cheaper than a cellphone upgrade.
I’m certainly not a shill for big tech, but I am a tech guy: I’ve owned a software development business for thirty years. And as much as Linux is intriguing, the potential issues of moving my regular workflow and software (if it’s even available) to that platform is not worth the hassle. I’ll spend the $149.
huxley et alia,
No reason to fear Linux*, or be super concerned about a major, as yet uncovered security flaw in Windows 10, but if you want a skinny, easy to run O/S give Chrome a try. I’ve installed it on several old PCs for convenient access to a browser. It’s even easy to make an autobooting instance on a USB drive. I have one in my garage for car repair videos and entertainment when I work there. I have one I carry outside to watch football in the elements in autumn. I even frankensteined one as a music stand for digitally displaying sheet music at gigs.
It runs Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc. but also MS Office through MS365.
*The Linux community is ubiquitous online, verbose and very willing to help.
This isn’t really “very recent hardware”.
John Bennet:
Point taken but … I’ve been buying personal computers since 1977. Half my computers are pre-2019. “Recent” is a relative term.
Sure, there’s great bang-for-the-buck these days in PC purchases. I follow the pricing. But why spend $149 or whatever if your present computer is still doing the job?
Microsoft obviously make more money if people junk their old computers and buy new ones. Microsoft has always been a predatory company.
Re: Chrome
Rufus T. Firefly:
You’re not wrong. If one just wants to browse, play YouTubes, handle email and do GoogleDocs, Chrome is fine, great even.
I once bought a ChromeBook thinking it was a real computer. I’m a hacker. I hated it.
Chrome is about child-proofing the personal computer.
Re: “The Linux community is ubiquitous online, verbose and very willing to help.”
Rufus T. Firefly:
Sure, but who wants to wade through online Linux groups to find the right magic incantations to type into a terminal window for some specific problem?
Not me. And I’ve been a professional in this world since the 80s.
No. Until recently and in the more sophisticated distros Linux was a hacker-only OS. Ordinary users had much to fear from Linux if they just wanted to get some work done without a guru down the hall.
Hello. I’ve got to come to a decision about Windows 11 this weekend. I suppose I’ll upgrade after first making sure I have backups. I do have one rather elderly Toshiba laptop which is still on Windows 7, but which sees no use in my day-to-day affairs. I’m really only holding onto it in case I need to dig out some old WordPerfect or ChessBase file or something like that.
Regarding Jean Stapleton, I have to confess that I simply cannot stand her ‘Edith voice’. It is like fingernails on a blackboard for me to listen to, esp. when Edith gets excited.
That might sound harsh, but it’s nothing personal against Ms. Stapleton herself.
No-one wants to discard old hardware, but we do it all the time with cellphones: Most modern cell phones are supported for 2-5 years, and at that point become ineligible for security or OS updates. So, most people upgrade to a new phone.
— John Bennett
Yes, the tech companies have a sweet grift going on there.
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It’s my pleasure to think of Ronna Burger when I see Jean Stapleton, and here she is: https://youtu.be/fa1dZpO0fFM
I loved her. I can’t remember the first time I heard her speaking as herself, but it was a revelation about acting for childhood me.
Missing from the available store of mass entertainment is a comprehensive biopic of Desi Arnaz, precise as possible and covering every phase of his life. (Lucy would be there, but not the focus; he lived a third of his life before he met her and another third after their business collaboration ceased).
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbi_TyBzQkU
There is a wonderful character role in the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Mrs. Maisel is roughly a portrayal of Joan Rivers early life. In the show she meets another woman comedian played by Jane Lynch. Lynch’s character, Sophie Lennon, does this slap stick comedy routine and her performance character is something of a rube. That is how we first see her, repeatedly.
Then Mrs. Maisel goes to visit Ms. Lennon at her home. The contrast couldn’t be greater. Her home is sumptuous and has fine art. Lennon’s presentation is almost that of a British aristocrat, including her voice. Although it’s not exactly a British accent.
It’s a shock to Mrs. Maisel who is essentially putting her actual life on display for laughs.
“Chinese toymaker fined for spying on kids”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/oct/9/chinese-toymaker-fined-spying-kids/
====
Should Americans be taxed to breed weasels?
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/oct/8/black-footed-ferrets-need-government-funding/
So Rand Paul and Murkowski (?) both want more drugs in the US. Even Collins voted to destroy the drug boats. What is wrong with these two? Hatred of Trump? Ego? No, not principles.
Rand Paul is a consistent libertarian with isolationist tendencies. Murkowski’s being difficult because she is or she’s jonesing for some payoff (‘Cornhusker kickback’, ‘Louisiana purchase’ &c).
https://instapundit.com/749703/#disqus_thread
==
Katie Porter grew up in Iowa in a farm family, surprisingly enough. Some man agreed to marry her and sired three children by her, surprisingly enough. Not so surprising is the occupation she followed before being elected to Congress; she was a law professor.
Should Americans be taxed to breed weasels?
==
The Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government has many a small data table where ‘Grants, Subsidies, and Contributions’ are specified. Absent emergencies (e.g. those triggering disaster relief), the quantum of public funds expended on ‘Grants, Subsidies, and Contributions’ to private corporate bodies and persons with institutional addresses should sum to $0. The quantum forwarded to local governments should be limited to payment-in-lieu-of-property taxes on federal real estate, which remittances would be part of the locality’s general revenues. The quantum forwarded to state (and territorial) governments should be limited to grants to finance (1) Medicaid, (2) unemployment compensation, (3) maintenance of long-haul Interstate highways, and (4) undifferentiated expenditure. This last in sum should be directly related to a state’s population, directly related to employee compensation per worker in the state, and inversely related to a states personal income per capita. Aid to foreign governments outside of emergencies should be in the form of services, equipment, or credits to buy equipment. Picking inter-governmental agencies to finance should be quite selective (hint, UNESCO would not be on the list).
==
Stop the embezzlement. Get the philanthropic sector and the educational sector off the federal dole.
Art Deco,
Not a biopic, but I recently read a positive review of this new book somewhere:
https://www.amazon.com/Desi-Arnaz-Man-Invented-Television-ebook/dp/B0DJJG55QP?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Re: Windows 10 end of life
This is serious. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 by 10/15. I have been working on my strategy.
The issue is that Microsoft requires very recent hardware for the Windows 11 upgrade. Many millions of Windows 10 machines won’t meet that requirement. Which means, no security updates and Windows 10 machines are sitting ducks for new security exploits.
Nor will Windows 10 users be able to download the Windows 10 reinstall/repair software. (Though that might change.)
First I downloaded Windows ISOs for Windows 10, so I can repair/reinstall Windows 10.
I downloaded the Windows 11 ISO so I could upgrade my laptop which qualifies for Windows 11, which I did.
But I have also been investigating Linux as an off-ramp from Windows. It’s free and open source.
Every couple years I check out the Linux state of the art. For most of its history Linux has been user-hostile. But some of the Linux distros have been steadily improving.
I am quite impressed the current Linux Mint Cinnamon. It’s painless to install on most Windows hardware. It’s close to the Windows user interface. It really seems to work. Keep it in mind as a possibility.
I’ve never liked Microsoft or Windows all that much. I may jump ship.
If you’re on Windows 10, you might consider your options.
Huxley, thanks for the heads-up & reminder about Windows 10!
It’s so unfortunate that big tech co’s can sorta force people to upgrade, or risk a multitude of big computer woes.
I feel similarly about cellphones, though that’s usually a smaller problem.
In other news —
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/10/09/ding-dong-dominion-voting-systems-is-dead-n4944686
Bought by a man who appears to believe in putting Trump’s policies about elections into action.
Let’s wish him success!
Huxley, et. al.,
To officially qualify for Windows 11, your computer needs a processor from 2018 or newer—specifically, Intel 8th Gen, AMD Zen 2, or later.
This isn’t really “very recent hardware”.
Obviously, there are some other requirements as well, including TPM V2, and UEFI, but these attributes have been available on most PCs for years.
No-one wants to discard old hardware, but we do it all the time with cellphones: Most modern cell phones are supported for 2-5 years, and at that point become ineligible for security or OS updates. So, most people upgrade to a new phone.
You can get a Windows 11 PC with 16 GB memory / 512 GB SSD for about $149, far cheaper than a cellphone upgrade.
I’m certainly not a shill for big tech, but I am a tech guy: I’ve owned a software development business for thirty years. And as much as Linux is intriguing, the potential issues of moving my regular workflow and software (if it’s even available) to that platform is not worth the hassle. I’ll spend the $149.
huxley et alia,
No reason to fear Linux*, or be super concerned about a major, as yet uncovered security flaw in Windows 10, but if you want a skinny, easy to run O/S give Chrome a try. I’ve installed it on several old PCs for convenient access to a browser. It’s even easy to make an autobooting instance on a USB drive. I have one in my garage for car repair videos and entertainment when I work there. I have one I carry outside to watch football in the elements in autumn. I even frankensteined one as a music stand for digitally displaying sheet music at gigs.
It runs Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc. but also MS Office through MS365.
*The Linux community is ubiquitous online, verbose and very willing to help.
This isn’t really “very recent hardware”.
John Bennet:
Point taken but … I’ve been buying personal computers since 1977. Half my computers are pre-2019. “Recent” is a relative term.
Sure, there’s great bang-for-the-buck these days in PC purchases. I follow the pricing. But why spend $149 or whatever if your present computer is still doing the job?
Microsoft obviously make more money if people junk their old computers and buy new ones. Microsoft has always been a predatory company.
Re: Chrome
Rufus T. Firefly:
You’re not wrong. If one just wants to browse, play YouTubes, handle email and do GoogleDocs, Chrome is fine, great even.
I once bought a ChromeBook thinking it was a real computer. I’m a hacker. I hated it.
Chrome is about child-proofing the personal computer.
Re: “The Linux community is ubiquitous online, verbose and very willing to help.”
Rufus T. Firefly:
Sure, but who wants to wade through online Linux groups to find the right magic incantations to type into a terminal window for some specific problem?
Not me. And I’ve been a professional in this world since the 80s.
No. Until recently and in the more sophisticated distros Linux was a hacker-only OS. Ordinary users had much to fear from Linux if they just wanted to get some work done without a guru down the hall.
Hello. I’ve got to come to a decision about Windows 11 this weekend. I suppose I’ll upgrade after first making sure I have backups. I do have one rather elderly Toshiba laptop which is still on Windows 7, but which sees no use in my day-to-day affairs. I’m really only holding onto it in case I need to dig out some old WordPerfect or ChessBase file or something like that.
Regarding Jean Stapleton, I have to confess that I simply cannot stand her ‘Edith voice’. It is like fingernails on a blackboard for me to listen to, esp. when Edith gets excited.
That might sound harsh, but it’s nothing personal against Ms. Stapleton herself.
— John Bennett
Yes, the tech companies have a sweet grift going on there.