tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36181482883268203772024-02-18T21:03:42.281-05:00The World According to BruceMy view of the world plus trying to provide useful information to people.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-85156240238117380202021-04-05T14:15:00.005-04:002021-04-07T13:01:24.813-04:00Mitch McConnell trying to block Brent Spence Bridge improvements — Again!<p>Once again, Senator Mitch McConnell (R Kentucky) wants to block improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge. As I recall, this is the fourth time Senator McConnell has tried to block improvements to the bridge. He was successful the previous three times; I expect him to fail this time.</p><p>If you're not familiar with it, the Brent Spence Bridge is an I-71-I-75 bridge that crosses the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. A significant amount of the U.S. GDP travels across this bridge. Kentucky does not want the bridge to charge tolls, but, absent of Federal funding, the bridge will need to charge tolls.</p><p>On Monday, April 5, <a href="https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article250439491.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">McConnell claims that Kentucky doesn't need the $2.4 billion</span></a> that it is allocated under the American Rescue Plan Act. I guess he doesn't want Kentucky to spend the money because he opposed it.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: PublicoHeadline, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville;">Mitch McConnell <b>didn't</b> say, "Just write the checks and then look the other way while we pass voter-suppression bills" but that's his implication. He doesn't want corporations involved in politics, but he really wants the money that comes from corporations. <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mcconnell-wants-corporations-shut-keep-sending-money-n1263291" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Rachel Maddow explains.</span></a> Sorry, Mitch, you can't have it both ways!</span></p><p>Last November, Kentucky citizens re-elected McConnell to the Senate despite previous opposition to improvements to the bridge and now Federal aid to the Commonwealth. What do you see in him, Kentucky?</p><p>Here is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/apr/01/derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-joe-biden-infrastructure-coronavirus-covid-live" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">an article with more information</span></a>.</p><p>Updated April 6 to add opposition to Kentucky receiving Federal aid</p><p>Updated April 7 to add Rachel Maddow's blog on Mitch</p>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-22424789522072744342021-03-24T12:31:00.002-04:002021-04-17T07:45:51.100-04:00Jeopardy! Guest Hosts Ranked<p>As Jeopardy! uses guest hosts in 2021, I am going to rank them.</p><p>So far, I feel that all of them have done a creditable job. Yes, I know that some are opposed to Dr. Oz for other things separate from Jeopardy!, but I am not holding that against him in this post.</p><p>Aaron Rodgers improved as the shows went on. I could see him as a permanent host. Up next: Anderson Cooper.</p><p>Spoiler alert: The returning champion Monday trolled Aaron during Final Jeopardy! Monday. <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aaron-rodgers-jeopardy-host-joke_n_606c339fc5b6832c793b6572" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Huffington Post has the story.</span></a></p><p>I'm using air show dates to show when each person was the guest host.</p><p>1. Ken Jennings January 4, 2021 through February 19, 2021</p><p>2. Katie Couric March 8 through March 19</p><p>3. Aaron Rodgers April 5 through April 16</p><p>4. Mike Richards February 22 through March 5</p><p>5. Dr. Mehmet Oz March 22 through April 2</p><p>Updated April 6</p><p>Updated April 17</p>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-51989573404765571832021-03-18T21:31:00.001-04:002021-03-18T21:31:43.141-04:00Teams by State — 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament<p>This blog post lists the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament (Championship) teams by State and District of Columbia.</p><p>States are listed in order of number of teams, then alphabetically. For each state, the number of teams from that state in the tournament are listed after the state in parentheses.</p><p>Abbreviations in parentheses {example: (APPST)} are abbreviations used by the CBS Sports NCAA Bracket. Abbreviations in brackets {example: [UIUC]} are not used by CBS Sports, but are commonly used by the universities themselves.</p><p>Please list any errors in the comments.</p><p><b>Texas (7)</b> Abilene Christian University, Baylor University, Texas Southern University (TXSO), Texas Tech University, University of Houston [UH], University of North Texas [UNT], The University of Texas at Austin</p><p><b>Virginia (5)</b> Liberty University, Norfolk State University (NORF), University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Virginia Tech</p><p><b>California (4)</b> San Diego State University [SDSU], University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), University of Southern California (USC)</p><p><b>New York (4)</b> Colgate University, Iona College, St. Bonaventure University, Syracuse University</p><p><b>North Carolina (3)</b> Appalachian State University (APPST), University of North Carolina [UNC], University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)</p><p><b>Ohio (3)</b> Cleveland State University, The Ohio State University [OSU], Ohio University</p><p><b>Oklahoma (3)</b> Oklahoma State University, Oral Roberts University, University of Oklahoma</p><p><b>Connecticut (2)</b> University of Connecticut [UCONN], University of Hartford</p><p><b>Florida (2)</b> Florida State University, University of Florida</p><p><b>Illinois (2)</b> Loyola University Chicago [LUC], University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [UIUC]</p><p><b>Iowa (2)</b> Drake University (DRKE), University of Iowa</p><p><b>Kansas (2)</b> University of Kansas, Wichita State University (WICH)</p><p><b>Maryland (2)</b> Mount St. Mary's University (MTSM), University of Maryland</p><p><b>Michigan (2)</b> Michigan State University (MSU), University of Michigan</p><p><b>Oregon (2)</b> Oregon State University [OSU], University of Oregon</p><p><b>Pennsylvania (2)</b> Drexel University, Villanova University</p><p><b>South Carolina (2)</b> Clemson University, Winthrop University</p><p><b>Utah (2)</b> Brigham Young University (BYU), Utah State University</p><p><b>Washington (2)</b> East Washington University, Gonzaga University</p><p><b>The remaining states and Washington, D.C.</b> have one university each in the tournament.</p><p><b>Alabama</b> University of Alabama</p><p><b>Arizona</b> Grand Canyon University</p><p><b>Arkansas</b> University of Arkansas</p><p><b>Colorado</b> University of Colorado at Boulder</p><p><b>Georgia</b> Georgia Institute of Technology</p><p><b>Indiana</b> Purdue University</p><p><b>Kentucky</b> Morehead State University [MSU]</p><p><b>Louisiana</b> Louisiana State University (LSU)</p><p><b>Missouri</b> University of Missouri</p><p><b>Nebraska</b> Creighton University</p><p><b>New Jersey</b> Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [RU]</p><p><b>Tennessee</b> University of Tennessee, Knoxville</p><p><b>Washington, D.C.</b> Georgetown University</p><p><b>West Virginia</b> West Virginia University</p><p><b>Wisconsin</b> University of Wisconsin—Madison</p>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-38386159958890197312019-05-10T12:59:00.001-04:002019-05-10T12:59:19.843-04:0011-year forced to bear rapist’s baby?<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Laws are not abstract things to be used for making points with a politician’s base. They affect real people.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">In this case, an 11-year-old who became pregnant after being raped must, by Ohio law, carry the fetus to term and give birth to it. I assume that any miscarriage will cause the opening of a criminal investigation.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Will this birth happen? I doubt it; there will be an abortion. Do the politicians care about the burden they have placed on this girl who is not even a teenager? I doubt it.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">But we must stop passing these laws just to pander to the misguided. They can believe what they want but they should not be allowed to inflict their views on others.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-abortion-rape-heartbeat-ohio-child-argentina-20190509-story.html">https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-abortion-rape-heartbeat-ohio-child-argentina-20190509-story.html</a>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-25592109898343578612019-04-28T06:48:00.000-04:002019-04-28T06:48:39.670-04:00We need to prevent violent crimesOur various law enforcement officers and prosecutors are very effective at stopping crimes being committed and also investigating and prosecuting crimes after they’ve been committed (but see Note).<br />
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Now we must move to the next level: Stopping crimes from being committed. From two fathers who shot their own sons in the face, to a shooter at a synagogue, to a truck driver who is unable to stop a speeding truck without killing people, we need to figure out where, when and how for the police to intervene before these horrible things happen.<br />
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This issue was tackled in the movie “Minority Report” (2002). In my vision, the PreCogs in the movie would be replaced by artificial intelligence programs running on supercomputers. For the sake of all of us, I think the research and development of such a system is more important than going to the Moon or Mars or self-driving cars. How many lives could be saved if even 10% of violent crimes could be stopped before they happen?<br />
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I predict that this is possible in my son’s lifetime. But is anyone working on this now?<br />
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Note: Not all departments are good at solving crimes. One glaring example is the inability of the Chicago Police Department to <a href="https://wgntv.com/2019/04/26/activists-suspect-51-unsolved-chicago-murders-are-work-of-serial-killer/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">solve a string of 51 killings of women</span></a>, going back to 2001, most involving women of color. Some suspect a serial killer is on the loose.<br />
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And then there’s the Baltimore Police Department, which has <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/investigations/bs-md-destroyed-rape-kits-20190423-story.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">destroyed 521 rape kits without processing them</span></a> since 2010. There will be no justice here.<br />
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Originally posted on my Facebook page on April 27, 2019.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-72512858164852560822019-02-22T11:28:00.000-05:002019-02-22T16:47:25.890-05:00One year anniversary of the shootings in Parkland, FloridaIt’s been a year since 14 students and three adults were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Miami Herald</span></a> wanted to know how many children have been killed in the year by gunfire since that day.<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article224680840.html?fbclid=IwAR3cwb0krlrnuF-P-79R97W4RoXd-CUXviqQpnPJ4Y2n06QsBQi2bPTvJPI"><span style="color: blue;">Their total: 1,157.</span></a></span></span> They ran short stories of each of these victims in the paper February 12.<br />
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My opinion: It’s too easy to get a gun and bullets(!) in this country, especially those with a known mental illness or a felony conviction. In many cases, the problem is not a lack of of laws, but lax enforcement. I don’t want to take away the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns; I want small, incremental changes made in the existing laws and better enforcement until the problem is reduced to a level society can live with — and I have no idea what that level is.<br />
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[This was originally posted on my Facebook page February 17. The comments from that post are included below.]</div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-13103286414108221332018-11-23T22:09:00.000-05:002018-11-23T23:36:08.705-05:00Ignoring mental health crisis leads to tragedy — Guest blogThis guest blog is a <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-le-mental-health-crisis-mass-shootings-utak-20181116-story.html"><span style="color: blue;">Letter to the Editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune</span></a>, published November 19 (on page B5 in the print edition). This letter, along with the earlier Letters to the Editor, were prompted by a <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/la-me-ln-thousand-oaks-20181107-story.html"><span style="color: blue;">mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California</span></a> on November 7, leaving 13 people dead.<br />
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<b>Re “<a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-le-california-shooting-ventura-nightclub-utak-20181108-story.html"><span style="color: blue;">Another mass shooting has readers looking for answers</span></a>” (Nov. 8):</b> This California tragedy is another sad example of what can happen when parents, who know their son and can see he needs medication or treatment, call the police for help to get their child taken to a hospital on a 5150 evaluation hold and are subsequently told by the police crisis team that he doesn’t meet the criteria of “a threat to himself or others” or is “gravely disabled.”<br />
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When will our country change the laws and definitions of when persons with a neurological disorder can be involuntarily medicated and treated until they are returned to rational thought? This untreated state, coupled with our weak gun ownership laws, is the crux of why these shootings are occurring.<br />
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A doctor on NPR responded to a reporter’s question, “What we can do to stop this from happening?” His response: “If you see something, say something.” Exactly what his parents did.<br />
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Linda Mimms, Poway<br />
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<i>Linda shared this Letter to the Editor on Facebook on November 19 with this comment:</i></div>
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When will our society's inhumane laws change in the treatment of neurological brain disorders? When the efforts of thousands of advocates for change—including families, doctors, legislators, and anyone who cares about improving the broken system now in place—force the issue and produce positive results.<br />
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<i>Linda Mimms lives in Poway, California.</i></div>
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Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-5972384113897428172018-11-10T23:16:00.001-05:002018-11-23T22:14:19.995-05:00When are people going to think about risks?Houses in Paradise, California are not designed to resist forest fires.<br />
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Houses in Oklahoma are not designed to resist tornadoes.<br />
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Houses in the Florida panhandle are not designed to resist hurricanes.<br />
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Houses in Memphis, Tennessee are not designed to resist earthquakes.<br />
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In most of the country, power, phone and cable wires are placed on poles, which are subject to all of these Disasters, except for earthquakes<br />
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These are areas known for natural risks. Why do so many people die and so many others have their lives ruined due to society ignoring these risks?<br />
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<span style="background-color: lime;">Edited November 23</span> to fix errors and add labels.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-15952798256125026292018-11-06T10:19:00.000-05:002018-11-06T10:19:23.658-05:00Mining Bitcoins takes four times the energy of mining goldI knew that "mining" Bitcoins took a lot of energy, increasing global warming and climate change. In fact, it takes so much energy that it is unsustainable as a currency.<br />
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According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/05/energy-cost-of-mining-bitcoin-more-than-twice-that-of-copper-or-gold" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">this analysis</span></a>, the energy cost of "mining" $1 worth of Bitcoin is 19 Mega Joules, which is almost four times the energy cost of $1 of gold, 5 Mega Joules.<br />
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Other metals, such as platinum and copper, have similar energy requirements to gold, but aluminum does stand out with the requirement of 122 Mega Joules per $1 of aluminum produced. Of course, that is why aluminum recycling is so common.<br />
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I am an annual subscriber to The Guardian to support its journalism. Although based in England, it does a great job covering stories in the United States that other media sometimes miss. If you wish to support it, start by downloading their app to your cell phone or tablet.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-349549053507904512018-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:002018-11-11T17:09:17.271-05:00Lindsay Olives: Thinner steel in your cans?Message to Lindsay Olives (Bell-Carter Foods, Inc.) today:<br />
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Hi,<br />
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When I've eaten your olives (Lindsay Naturals Large Black Ripe Pitted Olives; UPC Code 0-53800-95000-6), I recycle the cans. To keep the lids from cutting anyone at the recycling plant, I crush the can so that the lid doesn't fall out.<br />
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In crushing the cans, I have noticed that the steel in your cans is considerably thicker than the steel in other food cans, say Kroger Tomato Sauce. If you can reduce the thickness of the steel, you can save on the cost of the cans plus the cost of shipping without compromising food quality or the risk of damage.<br />
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By the way, I love the "brown" (natural) olives over the "black" olives (due to the added ferrous gluconate). I wish restaurants would switch.<br />
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Let me know what you think.<br />
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Bruce Hobbs<br />
bruce.hobbs@gmail.com</div>
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I'll update this post when I get feedback.<br />
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<span style="background-color: lime;">Updated November 11</span> with email received November 6:<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">Dear Mr. Hobbs,<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">Thanks for your thoughts – we’re always delighted to hear from olive lovers! We are delighted that you enjoy our Lindsay Naturals Black Ripe Olives.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">We appreciate your taking the time to share your suggestions with us. They have been shared with our Quality Assurance and Marketing departments. Our customer’s opinions are very important to us! At Lindsay, we constantly strive for perfection and honest feedback from people like yourself helps us monitor our products and continually improve our processes.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">Thank you for your feedback. If you would like to provide your mailing address, we would love to send you coupons to enjoy towards your next can or jar of Lindsay Olives as a gesture of our appreciation for your support.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.ilovelindsay.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5n5o4GemrbmWscgdOGtbhUTisC1m642YQPC9DN9DChvWfAN7A3jdBNsDTLk7K9s_d-YOzuHuI0INd88ViIkNcy6MkH4AxE_bUB1jP-2ZCSPk4QLVw5Au-SOwJNxZaHIf9z_OTxXlmz0/s1600/Lindsay+Olives+response.png" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-53265939851080297652018-11-03T16:51:00.000-04:002018-11-03T16:52:01.420-04:00Facebook: You need more servers!<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Is it just me, or has Facebook been having server problems since Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed? Comments are slow to load; I have posts in my News Feed with no story, just comments; and I’m missing stories from friends marked “See First.” C’mon, Facebook, let’s get it together! Brett’s confirmation has invigorated your user!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(This was originally posted on Facebook on November 1. There was no response.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-12789304648789524182018-11-03T16:47:00.003-04:002018-11-03T16:47:45.707-04:00Guns: One area where the U.S. is differentA note about mass shootings. My son noticed one thing different between the U.S. and other countries with strict gun laws: In the U.S., when there is a shooting, there is an immediate, overwhelming response by trained and armed police officers. In Cincinnati, the September 6 mass shooting on Fountain Square is a perfect example.<br /><br />By the way, until there’s an official determination, my opinion is that the Fountain Square shooting was a suicide-by-cop situation. It’s sad that innocent bystanders also died.<div>
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Click <a href="https://news.google.com/search?q=cincinnati%20fountain%20square%20shooting&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">here</span> </a>for stories about the Fountain Square shooting.</div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-67353306155879090162018-10-08T23:13:00.000-04:002018-10-08T23:18:47.919-04:00Sometimes, innocent people have to dieAll too often, innocent people have to die before action is taken. Here’s another sad example. In this case, both a limousine company and a highway department are at fault.<br /><br />"The crash about 170 miles north of New York City came three years after another deadly stretch-limo wreck in New York state spurred calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to examine such vehicles’ safety. There is no evidence the state took any steps to do so."<br /><br />Headline: <a href="https://apnews.com/ab4259eee6ad485a944c9c089a7d82a2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cuomo says limo shouldn’t have been on road</span></a>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-88734421640277832572018-09-29T12:22:00.000-04:002018-09-29T12:22:01.760-04:00To Pope Francis: There is no "Devil"Pope Francis believes that people need to pray daily to protect the Roman Catholic Church from the Devil. We can argue whether there's is a God or not, but it's clear to me that "The Devil" does not exist except as a bogeyman cooked up by Catholics and other religions. When something bad happens to the Pope, maybe he should look at the decisions he made and not blame the Devil for it.<br />
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<a href="https://apnews.com/d5b887aae9c94dea8b8ac18d7888164c" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">AP Story here.</span></a>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-82547306706327662852018-07-19T12:51:00.000-04:002018-07-19T12:53:20.792-04:00When will the next stock market crash occur?We are going to have a stock market crash, and possibly a recession, during President Donald Trump's first term. That is inevitable; the question is when. With this blog post, I’m going to try to let you know when far enough in advance that you can take action if you wish. I will update this page as I get more information.<br />
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I’m using the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">stock market crash on October 19, 1987</span></a> (United States) and subsequent recession (from July 1990 to March 1991) as my model. Note that anybody younger than 50 is unlikely to know much about these events. Note that I did not own any stock in October 1987 so I wasn't directly affected.</div>
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I successfully predicted the July 1990 recession in March 1990. I didn't think of it until September 1990 when a colleague reminded me that I had told him in March that there would be a recession. One of the problems with recessions is that you don't know when they start because it takes several months for the government economists to determine that a recession did indeed take place.<br />
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I do not expect the next crash to be as severe as the one in 1987. The stock market did eventually recover to where it was before the crash so people who had invested before the crash and then ignored it were made whole. I will discuss this in further updates: How long will it be before the stock market recovers from the crash?<br />
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<b>July 19, 2018</b> At this point, my best guess is the 4th quarter of 2019 for the stock market crash.</div>
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<i>Before making any investment decisions based on my advice, please read my <a href="https://worldaccordingbruce.blogspot.com/p/investment-advice.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Investment advice disclaimer.</span></a></i></div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-46655818741227304832018-06-27T11:05:00.002-04:002018-06-27T11:05:53.500-04:00<span style="background-color: #f3f6f8; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137);">There is no underlying value to Bitcoin and many other cyber currencies. If I own gold, Nvidia stock or a U.S. Treasury Note, there is an underlying asset that will always have value. The value of Bitcoin is determined by the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Greater Fool Theory</span></a><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137);">. In this case, the theory says that the value of Bitcoin will only rise if there is someone more foolish than you are buying it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f6f8; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137);"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f3f6f8; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137);">I saw this in the '80s with farmland in Illinois. The only way farmland was a good investment then was if the value continued to increase. Eventually, the bubble burst and many people lost a lot of money. Bitcoin is no different. Anyone who bought Bitcoin at $19,000 each realizes that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f3f6f8; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137);">When I posted this on LinkedIn, someone asked, "But what about cash, specifically, United States dollars?" This isn't about cash, this is about investments. If you consider Bitcoin an alternative investment, then why are you calling it a currency?</span></span>Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-66083289730306821072018-05-24T02:30:00.001-04:002018-05-24T02:38:11.659-04:00Air-powered cars? Not energy efficient enough (Update)Three years ago, I wrote a post saying that air-powered cards are not energy efficient enough to be used for most transportation uses. Three years later, only one thing has changed: Guy Nègre, the inventor of the air-powered car, died on June 24, 2016 (75 years old) without seeing his invention reach commercial success.<br />
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Zero Pollution Motors, a U.S. licensee of the technology, promises that you can buy a car next year (2019). It's always next year; in 2019, I expect that it will be 2020. I hope that anyone who made a deposit on a new car in 2015 has gotten their money back.</div>
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There is talk about Tata in India selling an air-powered car in 2020. However, the video I saw showed both three-wheeled and four-wheeled cars, indicating that the design isn't far along yet. (In the United States, a three-wheeled car is considered a motorcycle for regulatory purposes, which have much weaker security requirements than four-wheeled cars do.)<br />
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One thing the YouTube videos mention is that the cars are as light as possible. If these light cars were powered by a gasoline engine or an electric battery, they would have good gas mileage or range on a charge. Comparing these light cars to a conventional sedan is preposterous. I am getting 45+ miles per gallon in my 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid and it's a good sized car.<br />
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Scam alert: Do not make any investment in a company developing an air-powered car or give them a deposit on a new car. Likely, you will never see a return for your money. Shiva Vencat, CEO of Zero Pollution Motors, LLC has at least two funding sites trying to raise money.</div>
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I stand by my claim three years ago: Air-powered cars are not energy efficient enough for everyday use by Americans or Indians. I hope that, now that Mr. Nègre has died, this concept will fade into oblivion.</div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-13952297273389543032018-04-30T17:20:00.000-04:002018-04-30T17:23:15.951-04:00iPhone bug alert: No notice when voicemail fullWith an Apple iPhone running iOS version 11.3, there is no notice if your voicemail fills up. Callers will get this notice: "The mailbox is full and cannot accept any messages at this time. Goodbye."<br />
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A previous version of iOS would tell you when your voicemail was full, but only if you actually went into your voicemail (i.e. just opening the Phone app was not sufficient to get the notification).<br />
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To reduce your voicemail so that your phone can accept new messages, you must delete some messages then scroll to the bottom and clear the Deleted Messages. You may also want to check Blocked Messages and delete them as well. I believe that deleted Blocked Messages will go into Deleted Messages.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-15955068109189936142018-04-12T21:40:00.002-04:002018-04-12T21:40:43.666-04:00"IRS": "After 45 minutes, you will be arrested" — Guest blog<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got a call one day from the "IRS" telling me to call a certain number to prevent everything I own from being taken away from me. I thought it would be fun to call the number, so I did. Here's a transcript of the call. (I recorded it, but can't get the recording to work now.) The guy's accent was heavy. Where the idioms look like typos, they're not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Thank you for calling the Internal Revenue Service. How may I help you?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Hi, I just got a call saying that I was going to be sued by the Internal Revenue Service.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Hold on, ma’am. You’ll be provided all the information. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Ma’am, verify your home phone number.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: [Give them number they called me on (at 34 to 37 seconds in)]</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: And to whom I’m speaking with right now?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Julie Johnson</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Miss Johnson, are you still residing at [:48 through 1:09]? Miss Johnson, we called you to [unintelligible] you to [unintelligible] information. That there is a legal allegation and a law suit has been filed against you by the Internal Revenue Service. Are you aware about the situation?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: No, I’m not.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: So, I’ll let you know and I’m going to provide you all the information, but before that, do you have a pen and a piece of paper handy? I want you to write down some information.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Yes, I do. I’m ready.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Well, Miss Johnson, my name is Officer Derrick Brown. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: And my [unintelligible] is IRC636660.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: And your case i.d. is DC8192. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: ’Kay. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Thank you, Miss Johnson. Now I’m going to provide you with all the information, but before I do that I would like to tell you that we both are on federal marshals’ recorded lines, by the Internal Revenue Service and the Police of Washington, DC. So make sure you speak on the lines, it can also be used in favor of you...</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Or against you in the court, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: So we are being recorded.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Yes.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Miss Johnson, I’ll just go ahead and read out the legal charges against your name now, but before I do that — don’t not interrupt me — I give you a fair time to speak. Now as for the documents, we conducted an audit on your taxes filed for the years 2009 through ’13, and we found that there was a miscalculation in error for the taxes that you filed does not match the tax record that we have. According to Section 7201, the amount still outstanding on your name which you have not paid yet, and for that reason, the local authorities have an arrest warrant to come to your place. Your driver license will be cancelled, and everything under your name. Your property, your back account will be seized. You will also face federal imprisonment for up to five years. Now the total amount outstanding on your name is $8,562, which includes your pending taxes, legal charges, and late fees. Now, may I ask you, Miss Johnson, did you do this intentionally or it was by mistake?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: By mistake.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs: On the phone this time, Miss Johnson let me tell you, Miss Johnson, [unintelligible] legal notices to the mailing address. We sent two legal notices in the months of September and October of 2015, but both letters have bounced back to us, so we assume that you are trying to run away from the situation, as well you are trying to defraud with the government. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: I never got ’em. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: It’s not our duty, ma’am. We did our job, you didn’t [unintelligible]. On the phone this time ma’am, we have two alternatives. First option is: If you think there is nothing wrong with your taxes, you can simply fly to Washington DC with a criminal attorney, and you can file down your case against the IRS, but make sure if your criminal attorney feels guilty inside the courthouse, then you have to pay a fine to the Internal Revenue Service — 25 to 30 thousand dollars. Otherwise, there’s going to be have a federal imprisonment by your name for five years. And the second option is: You can resolve the case outside of the courthouse by paying the outstanding amount to the Internal Revenue Service, and you can stop the arrest warrant by your name. So on the phone this time, Miss Johnson, we want to know what your last intention, because in the moment we get disconnected, I’ll be [unintelligible].</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me. Okay. Okay, that’ll be fine. I’ll go ahead and fight it.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: You’ll go ahead and fight? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Yeah. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: No problem.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: I don’t have $8,000, so I got no choice.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Ma’am, we are not talking about that you have to [unintelligible] the amount. If you want to resolve the case, but I can give you monthly payments [unintelligible]. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Oh, how much would my monthly payments be?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: If you have good intentions to resolve the case, I can transfer the call to my account department. They’ll guide you up, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: But before transferring, before transferring the call, situation for you. The situation is how much you could come upcoming to resolve the case and to freeze the arrest warrant by your name? I mean maximum level. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Oh, I could probably get $5,000.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Okay, ma’am. And the second question was what I have for you. The line that we are talking right now, this is your home phone number or your cell phone number. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: It’s a cell phone number. [6:03]</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs1: Cell phone number. So ma’am, I’m transferring the call to my account department. They will guide you up, okay? Hold the line while I transfer the call to my account department. Thank you.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: [Here I’m on hold from 6:20 to 7:22, but I can talk to you, the listener. You can’t hear it, but Rod Stewart is singing Maggie Mae in the background. I say, “I’m eating. I shouldn’t be doing that. This ought to be good... Right now, he’s probably telling him, ‘Hey, we got a live one. She’s willing to give $5,000.' Crazy people... I wonder if he hung up on me. Nah!”]</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Yes, this call is transferred to me. This is Paul Anderson from the Head of the Accounts Department. To whom I’m talking to right now?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Julie Johnson</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay, and my bailor officer, he already explained to you what it is all about and what’s going on. So, I believe you got all the information, right?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Well, I don’t understand why I would owe the IRS $8,562 from 2013,’cause I did my taxes that year, and we typically owe about $3,000. And that’s what we owed and that’s what we paid. So what was different that year, do you know?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Our arbitrator already explained to you, okay? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: It wasn’t explained to me why I owed so much money. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay, I’ll [unintelligible] again. Here we are talking about 2009 to the year 2013. There was some kind of miscalculation over there, [unintelligible] numerals, mistake in your taxes, so that’s why [unintelligible] amount. So see I’m not talking about one year, okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Oh, so it was over several years, okay. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay, I’m not talking about one year, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Yeah, okay, and what is your name?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: So, my name is Paul Anderson. You can write it down. My name is Paul Anderson. Badge i.d. number for the Internal Revenue Service is IRC3137.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Uh hm. Okay.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay. So, I need your intention. What are you willing to do at [unintelligible] time? You will enter resolve this case outside of court or you can try this case inside the court. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Well, I’ll probably end up fighting it, I think, ‘cause I can’t come up with $8,562. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: So, are looking for the payment plan, right?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll do the payment plan. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay, but you can pay some the amount today, still, and rest of the amount, I can give it to you based premium plan. So, can I know how much you can come up with today, so that I can stop the lawsuit and cancel the arrest warrant? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Yeah. I’ll come up with $5,000 today. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Okay, so where do you have this $5,000? That means do you have sums of cash? In your debit card, in your credit card? Where do you have this money? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Well, I’ll call back this afternoon, and I’ll just go through your web site. You’re at </span><a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy" href="https://irs.gov/" rel="noopener " style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">irs.gov</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129;">, right?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: But, ma’am, if you hang up this line, but then I’m sorry I’m not help you out. I’m simply take this case legally inside the court. You can pay this amount right now, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Well, I’ll go to your web site right now and pay it.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: No problem. So I’m simply take this case legally inside the court, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Say what?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: I’m simply take this case legally inside the court. After 45 minutes, you will be arrested. Okay, you don’t have any other [unintelligible] option, okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: So, someone’s going to come to my door within 45 minutes? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Yes, the police officer will be coming at the place and they gonna arrest you.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Wow! Okay. Well, if I get it paid, though, they won’t. I mean, when they come, I can just show ’em where I paid it on line. ’Cause I’m sure, you guys’ll give me a receipt, right? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: It’s easier. There’s a new procedure. It’s called EFTPS. It stands for electronic federal tax payment system, okay? That is a reason you can call in a different procedure, because as the original lawsuit has been filed under your name and arrest warrant will be at you at your name. So you can use this procedure and you can resolve [unintelligible], okay?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: So, I go to EFTPS to pay this? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: Yes.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Will I go to </span><a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy" href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system" rel="noopener " style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">irs.gov/eftps</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129;">? Is that how it works?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: No, it’s not possible. Do you have the delivery amount in terms of cash in your hand? If not, I’m going to provide your bank account information to the federal attorney, who has been appointed by the state attorney to represent your state, so you can direct the deposit in this account. </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Oh, I see. This is a separate thing. Separate from the IRS? </span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: What do you mean by that?</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me: Well, I want to go through the </span><a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy" href="https://irs.gov/" rel="noopener " style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">irs.gov</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129;"> web site when I pay this, so, I’ll do it that way.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Irs2: No problem. No problem. Thank you.</span><br /><span style="color: #1d2129;">Me. Uh huh. Bye-bye.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">I read on the </span><a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/phone-scams-remain-serious-threat-no-2-on-the-irs-dirty-dozen-list-of-tax-scams-for-2017" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">IRS web site</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129;"> that, since October 2013, over 10,000 people have fallen victim to this scam and paid over $54 million.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Julie Johnson is an editor living in Marietta, Georgia. This was originally posted on Facebook on April 6.</i></span></div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-51124133002955592902018-01-24T16:29:00.000-05:002018-01-24T16:29:09.531-05:00Marching for Social Security and Medicare: A parable for todayA parable for today:<br /><br />They marched for women's rights, but I didn't march, because I'm not a woman.<br /><br />They marched for high-quality public education, but I didn't march, because my child is an adult.<br /><br />They marched for Black Lives Matter, but I didn't march, because I'm not Black.<br /><br />They marched for equal rights for those who are LGBTQ, but I didn't march because I'm straight.<br /><br />But then they wanted to privatize my Social Security and Medicare, so I organized a march. And I thought, nobody's going to show up for my march because I didn't show up for their marches. But there they were, women and men, teenagers and adults, Blacks, Whites and even LGBTQ folks. I was pleasantly surprised. I asked one of the young marchers, "Why are you here? You're not going to get Social Security for many years." She replied, "You don't understand. We don't march just to help our situation, we march for everyone!"<br /><br />(This was originally posted on my Facebook page January 24, 2017. Yes, I wrote it.)Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-91676916628980676132017-11-12T20:28:00.000-05:002017-11-28T23:20:39.337-05:00Most verbose Nigerian 419 message everLooking through my <a href="https://mail.google.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Gmail</span></a> spam folder, I found this gem which I'm calling the "most verbose Nigerian 419 message ever." A <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fraud/advancefee/nigeria.asp" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Nigerian 419 scam</span></a> is one where someone wants your help in moving a large amount of money from their country to the U.S. Of course, you will never see a penny of the money; you will lose money instead in paying fees to get the money to you. An alternative name for these scams is "advanced fee fraud."<br />
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Note the red flags: The person writing to you is proposing to do something illegal (and it may be illegal if you participate). Even though they are doing something illegal, they are trusting you with a large sum of money (which you could just keep and not pay them a cent). There are general descriptions instead of specific ones ("The Security Firm" Which security firm?). Finally, you have to assume that they only sent one copy of this message and not a million copies.<br />
<br />
It is unusual with these scam emails to not have a email or phone number to respond to in the body of the message. So I sent a standard reply. The reply-to address was <a href="mailto:grahamdanny197@gmail.com"><b>grahamdanny197@gmail.com</b></a>. I will update this post if there is any further information about this. (I am humored by the participation of Gmail in this little scam.)</div>
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In replying to this, I am confirming my email address to the scammer (not recommended). They can then sell this to others who may try other schemes to separate you from your money. However, I'm not worried as Gmail has excellent spam filtering and I expect any other messages to go straight to my Spam folder.<br />
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<b>Sun, Nov 12, 2017 at 8:01 PM EST</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span>
<b>Dear Mr. Graham,<br /><br />I read your message with interest. As a noted business person, I receive requests like yours frequently. Because of the volume of requests that I receive, I require a minimum of $30 million be involved for my participation. Your proposal falls short.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Bruce Hobbs</b><br />
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<div>
<b>Here is the original message</b>, in all its glory (including formatting, spelling and grammatical errors). <br />
<br />
From: Danny Graham <"www."@clear.ocn.ne.jp><br />
<br />
Reply-to: grahamdanny197@gmail.com<br />
<span aria-hidden="true" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span>
Date: Sat, Nov 11, 2017 at 6:42 PM EST<br />
<br />
Subject: READ WITH CLEARITY<br />
<br />
Message:<br />
I am Danny Graham of HSBC Bank, United Kingdom . I am contacting you concerning a deceased customer and an investment he placed under our banks management three years ago, and I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this mail. I am contacting you independently of our investigation and no one is informed of this communication. I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I believe would be of interest to you.In the year 2004, the subjects matter; came to our bank to engage in business discussions. He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of Twenty Seven Million three hundred and seventy Thousand United States Dollars, which he wished to have us turn over(invest) on his behalf.<br />
<br />
I decided to treat his case personally; I made numerous suggestions in line with my duties as the de-facto chief Intermediary Sales department of the bank, especially given the volume of funds he wished to put into our bank. We met on numerous occasions prior to any investments being placed. I encouraged him to consider various growth funds with prime ratings. The favoured route in my advice to customers is to start by assessing data on 6000 traditional stocks and bond managers and 2000 managers of alternative investments. Based on my advice, we spun the money around various opportunities and made attractive margins for our first months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood at this point at over One million United States Dollars, this margin was not the full potential of the fund but he desired low risk guaranteed returns on investments.<br />
<br />
In November 2005, he asked that the money be liquidated because he needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash payments in Finland . Where he said, he is investing with a Firm that is building a housing estate outside Helsinki for the government of Finland . He directed that I liquidate the investment and deposit the funds with a security firm. I informed him that Custodian trust vault commission would have to make special arrangements to have this done and in order not to circumvent due process, the bank would have to make a 9.5 % deduction from the funds to cater for banking and statutory charges. He complained about the charges but later came around when I explained to him the complexities of the task he was asking of us.<br />
<br />
Cash movement across boarders has become especially strict since the incidents of 9/11. I contacted my affiliate and made the funds available to a security firm. I undertook all the processes and made sure I followed his precise instructions to the letter and had the funds deposited with the security firm.The Security Firm is a specialist private firm that accepts deposits from high net worth individuals and blue chip corporations that handle valuable products or undertake transactions that need immediate access to cash. This small and highly private organization is familiar especially to the highly placed and well-connected organizations. In line with instructions, the money was deposited with the security firm. The Customer told me he wanted the money there in anticipation of his arrival from Norway later that week. This was the last communication we had, this transpired around 25th February 2006.In June last year, we got a call from the security firm informing us about the inactivity of that particular po<br />
<br />
This was an astounding position as far as I was concerned, given the fact that I managed the private banking sector I was the only one who knew about the deposit at the security firm, and I could not understand why the Customer had not come forward to claim his deposit. I made futile efforts to locate the Customer. I immediately passed the task of locating him to the internal investigations department of Custodian trust vault commission Four days later, information started to trickle in, apparently our client was dead. A person who suited his description was declared dead of a heart attack in canne, in southern part of france . The body was identified and the cause of death was confirmed. The bank immediately launched an investigation into possible surviving next of kin to alert them about the situation and also to come forward to claim his estate. If you are familiar with private banking affairs, those who patronize our services usually prefer anonymity, but also some levels of detachment from conventional<br />
<br />
My official capacity dictates that I am the only party to supervise the investigation and the only party to receive the results of the investigation What this means, after investigating the last batch of names forwarded to us as possible relatives, we have come to the conclusion that our dear late fellow died with no known or identifiable family member. This leaves me as the only person with the full picture of what the prevailing situation is in relation to the deposit and the late beneficiary of the deposit. According to practice, The Security Firm will by the end of this year broadcast a request for statements of claim to Custodian trust vault commission, failing to receive viable claims they will most probably revert the deposit back to Custodian trust vault commission. This will result in the money entering the accounting system and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the private banking division, HSBC Bank.<br />
<br />
This will not happen if I have my way. What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice but I want you to understand something. It is only an outsider to the banking world who finds the internal politics of the banking world aberrational. The world of private banking especially is fraught with huge rewards for those that occupy certain offices and oversee certain portfolios. You should have begun by now to put together the general direction of what I propose. There is Twenty Seven Million three hundred and seventy Thousand United states Dollars deposited in a security firm, I alone have the deposit details and they will release the deposit to no one unless I instruct them to do so. I alone know of the existence of this deposit for as far as Custodian trust vault commission is concerned. The transaction with our late customer concluded when I sent the funds to the security firm, all outstanding interactions in relation to the file are just customer services and du e process. The security Firm has<br />
<br />
They are simply awaiting instructions to release the deposit to any party that come forward. This is the situation. This bank has spent great amounts of money trying to track this man's family; they have investigated for months and have found no family. The investigation has come to an end. My proposal; I am prepared to place you in a position to instruct the security Firm to release the deposit to you as the closest surviving relative. Upon receipt of the deposit I am prepared to share the money with you. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and have them release the deposit to you and share the proceeds with you in a percentage we will arrive at taking into consideration our individual level commitment. I would have gone ahead to ask that the funds be released to me, but that would have drawn a straight line to me and my involvement in claiming the deposit. But presenting you as a relative with the right to claim the deposit as a next of kin will mask my i nvolvement and participation in d<br />
<br />
If my offer is of no appeal to you, delete this message and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but people like myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move. Such opportunities only come ones' way once in a lifetime. I cannot let this chance pass me by, for once I find myself in total control of my destiny. These chances won't pass me by. I ask that you do not destroy my chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me. I am a family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new opportunities. There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth undertaking. I have evaluated the risks and the onl y risk I have here is from you re<br />
<br />
Please, again, note I am a family man; I have a wife and children. I send you this mail not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences, but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth I have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my confidence.<br />
<br />
Respectfully,<br />
Danny Graham<br />
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<b>First response from Mr. Graham</b>, if that's his real name. Note that this is a fixed-width message, in contrast to the original which wasn't:<br />
<br />
Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 3:43 PM EST<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Bruce,<br />
<br />
I received your mail and clearly understand your point. But you should<br />
understand that money is money and no money is a waste. Its an added<br />
advantage no matter what you get out of it. This transaction I<br />
presented to you is over $27million and I think its a good deal for<br />
someone like me who sees this as a golden opportunity to live a much<br />
more comfortable life even though am a banker. I am the assigned case<br />
officer to this deposited funds by the bank all because I facilitate<br />
the process of the deposit with the deceased client with the<br />
institutions he finally kept the funds for safe keeping.<br />
<br />
It will be a great deal, if you choose to assist me in this matter and<br />
you being a business man is an added advantage for this to be<br />
successful after I make the presentation in your name. I am here for<br />
business and not for jokes or any child's play.<br />
<br />
Thanks and waiting.<br />
<br />
Danny.<br />
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<b>Second response from Mr. Graham:</b><br />
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Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 5:28 PM EST</div>
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<br />
Hello Bruce,<br />
I communicated back to you and sent you the information required for<br />
us to start up the process till now, nothing was heard from you and I<br />
had already informed the bank today that I had found a kinship to the<br />
Deposit of the Late. Ronald Manoor and authorization had been given<br />
officially to make the presentation to the custodian trust as<br />
presented before the bank.<br />
<br />
Till now, am waiting to receive the details from you so as to start<br />
the presentation and by this mail, I expect your earliest response.<br />
<br />
Danny.</div>
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<b>My second response:</b></div>
<br />
Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 3:07 AM EST<br />
<br />
Mr. Graham,<br />
<br />
I'm sorry it took me so long to respond as I have been busy with other business dealings. I must have missed the information needed to start the process. Please send it to me again. I'm still uncertain of my participation, though.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Bruce Hobbs</div>
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<b>Third response from Mr. Graham:</b><br />
<br />
Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 4:16 PM EST<br />
<br />
Thank you Bruce. I need you to send me your details such as your names<br />
in full , residence contact address, telephone and mobile numbers,<br />
occupation and age, also, a brief biography of you . These details<br />
will be used to write a letter of introduction and authorization in<br />
your name and sent to the custodian trust and at their acceptance, all<br />
necessary proofs needed for us to start up and move forward with<br />
coordinating the transaction will be sent to you for the proceedings<br />
with the custodian trust which is the agency in custody of the said<br />
deposit.<br />
<br />
I wait earnestly for your mail.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Danny Graham.</div>
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<b>My third and final response:</b></div>
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[Note that each response is being appended to all the previous email messages. So this message thread is getting longer and longer. My third response, which included another spam message that came from the <b>same</b> email address as Danny's first message, added even more to the length.]</div>
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Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 9:18 PM EST<br />
<br />
Mr. Graham,<br />
<br />
I received the offer below recently but I just noticed it today. At $12 billion, is certainly more than $30 million. I will consider this offer instead of yours. Please let me know if you have a subsequent fund that is $30 million or more. I hope I haven't taken too much of your time.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Bruce Hobbs<br />
<br />
Offer received recently:<br />
<br />
Date: Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 7:44 AM<br />
<br />
Subject: $12,000,000,000.00 USD Payment notification from Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC).<br />
<br />
(RBC) Royal Bank Of Canada.<br />
1122 International Blvd. Burlington,<br />
Ontario L7L 6Z8 Canada.<br />
Email: (royalbankofcanada2017@yahoo. com .<br />
<br />
$12,000,000,000.00 USD Payment notification from Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC).<br />
<br />
Dear Beneficiary<br />
<br />
The Board of Trustees and Management of (RBC) Royal Bank Of Canada wish to<br />
officially inform you today that your outstanding Coca-Cola Company Winning<br />
fund valued at the total sum of US$12,000,000,000.00 (Twelve Billion United<br />
States Dollars) which was deposited with our bank here in Canada to your name<br />
many years ago has been legally approved and Authorized by the European Union<br />
committee on Foreign Payment Resolution, following with the payment release<br />
letter we received from the Canadian Finance Ministry and Canadian Ambassador<br />
to U.S, for onward transfer, therefore, an instruction to credit your fund<br />
have<br />
been given to this Bank by the (FRB) Federal Reserve Bank Of Scotland for<br />
immediate release of your fund to your bank account.<br />
Be informed that your fund transfer notification latter has been forwarded to<br />
the Central Bank Of Canadian and to the General Director Of (I.M.F)<br />
International Monitoring Fund Office in America for final approval, and this<br />
is<br />
because to transfer such huge amount of money we really have to notify every<br />
offices that is concern in any International fund transfer that is moving out<br />
of Canada just to avoid any problem when making the payment to your bank<br />
account, but we have successfully gotten some of the fund release approval<br />
documents from the legal department regarding this transaction.<br />
Note that the (RBC) Royal Bank Of Canada Established in Ontario as of 1782 by<br />
Charles III, today the bank is a member of the Canadian System of Central<br />
Banks. It is also the national supervisor of all the banking system around<br />
Canada, and as such any transaction made out of this bank must go successfully<br />
into the beneficiary's bank account without any hitch, and be informed that<br />
every documentations required in your fund transfer must be fully secured and<br />
send to you as soon as possible for proof and file keeping before we can<br />
proceed.<br />
However, we the Royal Bank Of Canada hereby advise you to quickly reconfirm<br />
your full banking information to this bank before we can proceed with the<br />
claim<br />
process of your fund, and this is to avoid any mistake or wrongful<br />
transaction,<br />
and we will not be responsible for any lost of fund, so as a result of this we<br />
now advise you to kindly get back to us with your Residential Home Address and<br />
your complete Banking details as to enable the management of this bank<br />
facilitate the smooth release of your fund to your account.<br />
Upon the confirmation of your full details as instructed we will send our Bank<br />
Attorney to proceed with securing of the necessary legal documents in your<br />
name<br />
with immediate effect, and note With the transfer arrangements in place, you<br />
are advised to send your<br />
Mandatory Endorsement fees which include, Fund Registration Fee Documentation &<br />
Stamp Duty Fees and Cost of Transfer Immediately as requested by the Department<br />
of Finance and International Remittance Department Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)<br />
in accordance with the<br />
stipulations and foreign transfer regulation act. The Total fees for your fund<br />
are $55.00USD as indicated.You should be aware of the fact that your prize<br />
money is under insurance coverage and as result of that the transfer charges<br />
cannot be deducted from the winning sum until your prize money is transferred<br />
to you wholesomely without tampering by any person, no charge/charges can be<br />
withdrawn or deducted from your winning fund until the fund is transferred into<br />
your nominated bank account.<br />
kindly send the funds directly to our attorney in Benin, your lottery Agent<br />
Johnson Ife to pay to usand he has to come with the money including the Power<br />
of Attorney to our bank, pay the charges and Sign the release order and other<br />
necessary document on your behalf. You will receive the MT55 payment<br />
confirmation slip of your fund on your conclusions with sendingthe requested<br />
Fund Registration Fee, Documentation & Stamp Duty Fees and Cost of Transfer<br />
Money transfer Advice is below please...<br />
Receiver's Name__peter onu<br />
Cotonou,Benin<br />
Republic. Country _Benin Republic<br />
Amount: $55 US dollars<br />
Important:<br />
After paying the fee, send me the payment slip confirmation of the transaction<br />
for record<br />
keeping.<br />
Mtcn#:...........<br />
Sender's name........<br />
Sender's address.......<br />
Sender's telephone.....<br />
We do not accept Bank Certified Drafts, Cheques, Credits or Cover Notes in<br />
reference to the above payment as funds below USD10, 000 are made payable via<br />
Cash Counter Payment.<br />
We awaiting your immediate response with your information to enable this bank<br />
proceeds with the transfer of your approved fund and serve you better as we<br />
were directed by the Canadian Government.<br />
Thank you for choosing Royal Bank Of Canada.<br />
Yours Faithfully,<br />
<br />
David I Mckay<br />
The President and CEO.<br />
(RBC) Royal Bank Of Canada.<br />
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<div>
<b>Fourth response from Mr. Graham:</b></div>
<br />
Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 1:05 AM EST<br />
<br />
Mr. Hobbs,<br />
<br />
You are just been naive over this issues. Who has a deal of $12billion<br />
and how do you move the money without the government of that country<br />
not pursuing you. Well, brother, I have nothing to say, If you can<br />
send over my request, we would start up our transaction and conclude<br />
within a space of days. The forwarded communication stated from Royal<br />
Bank of CANADA is not possible and I will ask my friend who is the<br />
head of International Funds Transfer Unit today but i advise you to<br />
suspend further contact with the said person who claimed to have a<br />
transaction of $12billion , if you are moving $12billion from the<br />
bank, then, how much is the capital base of the bank? Its not possible<br />
brother. Keep your head straight on my side and let's get our deal<br />
started up to a conclusion.<br />
<br />
Danny.<br />
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<br /></div>
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[The Royal Bank of Canada has assets of $1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. $12 billion would be 1% of those assets.]<br />
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<b>Fifth response from Mr. Graham:</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Mon, Nov 27, 2017 at 3:47 PM EST<br />
<br />
nothing was heard from you again bruce after my accurate findings which you neglected. Can we work out our deal?<br />
<br />
Danny<br />
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<b>Sixth response from Mr. Graham:</b></div>
<br />
Mon, Nov 27, 2017 at 3:49 PM<br />
<br />
Though, I have been trying to add up some other deposit within my reach which still belongs to the deceased depositor and that will likely run into $60million.<br />
<br />
Can we get talking on the way forward to getting this done?<br />
<br />
Danny<br />
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<b>16 days have elapsed</b> since the first message arrived. Is Danny going to give up now?<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: lime;">Updated November 28</span> to add more messages and other minor updates<br />
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Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-13215359584058793192017-11-06T11:23:00.000-05:002017-11-28T23:15:00.640-05:00Clairvoyant: I make no such claim<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">clair·voy·ant</span><br />
<br />(noun)<br /><br /> A person who claims to have a supernatural ability to perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact.<br /><br /> So you have to claim to be a clairvoyant to be one (sounds circular to me). I will not make any such claim. Let's just leave it at that.<div>
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<span style="background-color: lime;">Updated November 28</span> to increase the font size.</div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-22145245440434202882017-10-07T22:26:00.000-04:002017-10-07T22:26:02.450-04:00The Jones Act should be repealedI sent this message to my Senators, <a href="https://www.brown.senate.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)</span></a> and <a href="https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Rob Portman (R-Ohio)</span></a>, and to my Representative, <a href="https://wenstrup.house.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio District 2)</span></a>:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"The Jones Act will saddle Puerto Rico with unnecessary rebuilding costs as materials will need to be shipped to the island. It should be repealed immediately for Puerto Rico and after a period of time (a year?) for the rest of the country. This protectionist act has outlived its usefulness. Thank you."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In case you're unfamiliar with the Jones Act, formally known as the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Act_of_1920" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Merchant Marine Act of 1920</span></a>, here's a summary from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Wikipedia</span></a>: It "requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents." It is a protectionist act and, in my humble opinion, has no place in modern commerce.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-864632369906804812017-08-10T23:55:00.000-04:002017-08-10T23:55:28.013-04:00Only science can predict an eclipseOn August 21, many in the United States will experience a partial or total solar eclipse. This forecast is brought to you purely by science and math. There is nothing in the Holy Bible, in Christianity or any other religion that has any power or ability to predict when an eclipse will happen.<br />
<br />
If you're a science denier, I respectfully request that you not make any preparations for the eclipse and watch it as it happens. To do otherwise is a concession on your part that science does exist and plays a part in your life.<br />
<br />
To those who like to pick and choose which science they follow and which they ignore: It doesn't work that way. Sure, science is messy and subject to politics but, ultimately, you have to accept the whole package or none of it.Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618148288326820377.post-71832454745273217982017-08-10T23:43:00.000-04:002017-08-10T23:43:24.105-04:00Stupid headline of the day — July 27, 2017And the stupid headline of the day goes to <a href="http://gizmodo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Gizmodo</span></a> for this doozy:
"<a href="http://gizmodo.com/astronomers-capture-wild-intergalactic-gamma-ray-burst-1797261225" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Astronomers Capture Wild Intergalactic Gamma Ray Burst As It Happens.</span></a>"<br />
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Anyone who knows science knows that things that show up here on Earth
didn't just happen. In this case, the event happened nine billion years
ago. Think about that for a second and reread "As It Happens."<br />
<br />
Second, you would expect that this observation occurred today, maybe
yesterday. No, it happened over a year ago, on June 25, 2016. The t<span class="text_exposed_show">hing that happened today is that Gizmodo found out about it and wet their pants over it.</span><br />
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Finally, and I'm grasping at straws here, it took them three minutes
into the event to start recording it. What did they miss? They can only
guess. They did get some exciting data four minutes into the event.<br />
<br />
The story is a great story. It's the click-bait headline I object to.
But the headline worked; enough people clicked on it that it showed up
in my <a href="https://news.google.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Google News Feed</span></a>. Sadly, this is what journalism has become: It's
all about how many clicks you get, some from real people and some from
bots!<br />
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In writing this post, I spent some time on Gizmodo and it does have some good stories.<br />
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(I originally posted this on Facebook on July 27.)</div>
Bruce Hobbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153681946986022759noreply@blogger.com0