Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 08/08/2023 om 01:05 schreef Samuel B.:
>
> > [anti-ad stuff]
>
> Ha Ha! My gospel this! :-)
>
> [note: I /think/ that here in Western Europe, we are a little bit more
> protected from all this than in the US...]
>
> --
> Thomas

I not sure why more people here aren't upset at all the stuff they put up with
day in and day out. The EU definitely seems to have better policies regarding
advertising, privacy, etc.

Here in the US people just take it, for whatever reasons. Everyone is told to
just vote better, but from my point of view, it's truly a good cop/bad cop
scenario... one in which both sides are playing both sides at the same time...
One side (republicans) is pretty much the bad cop, and the other side
(democrats) are the good cop who just "can't get anything done," because the
republicans are always "blocking" their moves. Meanwhile, people are
increasingly unable to afford rent, healthcare and even food (which might be a
good thing in this supersized society :P).

But worst of all are the wars my country wages abroad without nary a vote. I
truly feel bad about places like Syria who are under constant assault by
terrorists, many of whom wear US uniforms or were trained & funded by the very
country claiming to fight a war against terrorism! It's insane that anyone
thinks the US are the good guys. I know there needs to be stability, but with
our countless coups, sanctions which hurt the people and not their governments,
theft of oil... Well, I try not to get too worked up about it but I still feel
somewhat responsible, being a US citizen and all.

Sam

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hi,

"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> "jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> > [...] personally, I tend to visit a new URL in an "incognito" window [...]
>
> This is the way. I do this (in FF), not because I think it it protects me from
> being tracked completely (it doesn't), but because it keeps my searches from
> being curated.

yes, "curated".  these impersonal "personalisations" have crept in to, it seems,
every aspect of web access.  thoroughly dislike (mildest :-)) the trend.


> > :-)  no FF (or TB) here.
> You might want to change your mind about that, since I heard Chromium-based
> browsers will be making it harder (if not impossible) to use ad blockers in the
> near future.
>
> (rant incoming)

:-)  (seeks shelter behind desk)


> I'm done with ads. I hate them. I grew up watching them on TV and seeing them in
> magazines, and I have had my fill.

agree, and here Google really is the major offender, afaict.  I mean, what
soulless cretin puts advertisements in the middle of (tracks of) an album ?!
(as happens on YT)


> Here's a great Banksy quote about
> advertising:

yes, commerce vs ethics.. thanks.  (one of my "firm favourite" artists)


you replied to Thomas:

> But worst of all are the wars my country wages abroad ... Well, I try
> not to get too worked up about it but I still feel somewhat responsible,
> being a US citizen and all.

guess I must be older than you, I think the "not quite wars" the US of A
conducted in Central-America, more often than not via its Central Intelligence
Agency, were worse perhaps because undeclared.  but look on the bright side, at
least y'all can get cheap cocaine now, by the ton :-).

and you do not have to be a US (of A) citizen to feel the responsibility(-ies),
truly, we all ought to.


regards, jr.

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"jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> hi,
>
> "Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> > "jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> > > [...] personally, I tend to visit a new URL in an "incognito" window [...]
> >
> > [...] it keeps my searches from being curated. [...]
>
> yes, "curated".  these impersonal "personalisations" have crept in to, it seems,
> every aspect of web access.  thoroughly dislike (mildest :-)) the trend.

It's the internet, you can say "hate" here ;P

> > I'm done with ads. I hate them. I grew up watching them on TV and seeing them in
> > magazines, and I have had my fill.
>
> agree, and here Google really is the major offender, afaict.  I mean, what
> soulless cretin puts advertisements in the middle of (tracks of) an album ?!
> (as happens on YT)

FF with UBlock Origin prevents any such incursions for the time being. And if
you want to listen to the music you like, there are a number of online YouTube
downloaders out there that still work... Plus, I think there's still a way to
support your favorite artists monetarily, apart from YT views :)

> > Here's a great Banksy quote about
> > advertising:
>
> yes, commerce vs ethics.. thanks.  (one of my "firm favourite" artists)

I was on a fence about the guy for a while, but that quote made me realize that
other people have the same feelings about these issues as me.

>
> you replied to Thomas:
>
> > But worst of all are the wars my country wages abroad ... Well, I try
> > not to get too worked up about it but I still feel somewhat responsible,
> > being a US citizen and all.
>
> guess I must be older than you, I think the "not quite wars" the US of A
> conducted in Central-America, more often than not via its Central Intelligence
> Agency, were worse perhaps because undeclared.

I'm in my mid-forties, so not /too/ young. But yes, I know a bit about my
country's undeclared wars. I said "wars" in my previous comment because I refuse
to see them as anything else. When was the last time the US declared war? WWII?
Declarations are meaningless when actions speak otherwise -_-

> but look on the bright side, at least y'all can get cheap cocaine now, by the
> ton :-).

I heard there are killer square groupers on the east coast. Not that I've ever
had any... I'm on the west coast. (I did get a chance to have some once, but I
didn't want my face going all numb in mixed company. Plus, it seems like it's
not all that great anyway...)

> and you do not have to be a US (of A) citizen to feel the responsibility(-ies),
> truly, we all ought to.
>
> regards, jr.

True, but it seems like my country of the US is the biggest exporter of
"democracah." Pax Americana, it's sometimes called :/

Sam

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Interesting news about data cloud storage EU vs US:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66310714

-- 
Thomas

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hi,

"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> ... [Banksy] ...
> I was on a fence about the guy for a while, but that quote made me realize that
> other people have the same feelings about these issues as me.

ah, I "fell for him" when I was given Wall & Peace, as a present.

"People who enjoy waving flags don't deserve to have one."

:-)

> ...  I'm on the west coast. ...

ah, loved (still do) their (few I know of) musical cultures.  Ralph Records,
Cleopatra..  :-)


@ TdG
> Interesting news about data cloud storage EU vs US

perfect timing :-), thanks.


regards, jr.

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Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Interesting news about data cloud storage EU vs US:
>
> https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66310714
>
> --
> Thomas

I was wondering how this might square with Five Eyes... But are there actually
any 5Es members now, after Brexit?

I suppose the GDPR only helps against commercial data acquisition, at any rate.

Sam

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"jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> hi,
>
> "Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
>
> > ...  I'm on the west coast. ...
>
> ah, loved (still do) their (few I know of) musical cultures.  Ralph Records,
> Cleopatra..  :-)
>

Huh, I haven't heard of them. But I did look at their Wikipedia page. Saw
nothing I recognized. But the name "Porcelain telephone" stood out as something
interesting, so I had Bing make an image of it (notice the excess of numbers on
the dial, haha).

Music is one of those funny things where you're unlikely to easily find another
person with the same interests as you. (But I'll try to remember Ralph Records
and do a search.)

Sam

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Attachments:
Download 'porcelainphone.jpg' (70 KB)

Preview of image 'porcelainphone.jpg'

"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> "jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> >
> > "Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> > > ... west coast. ...
> >
> > Cleopatra..  :-)
>
> Huh, I haven't heard of them.

Just looked up Cleopatra Records. Nothing I recognized at first, but there was
an offshoot responsible for Quiet Riot, a favorite of mine back in the day.

It seems like the company handled a lot of artists, some possibly genre-adjacent
to a band I like: Epica. Omega is my album favorite from them, but it's one of
those "listen only once in a blue moon or have it stuck in your head forever"
types of things.

Sam

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On Mon,  7 Aug 2023 19:05:23 EDT, Samuel B. wrote:

> You might want to change your mind about that, since I heard
> Chromium-based browsers will be making it harder (if not impossible) to
> use ad blockers in the near future.

Pi-Hole, Privoxy, and router-based blocklists work really well most of the 
time here.  There are rare situations where I have to turn them off 
(usually streaming services that *ahem* I PAY FOR AD FREE CONTENT FROM - 
but they can't promote their new show or run the streaming service 
'bumper' unless I disable it temporarily).

Chrome can suck it.  I like it as a browser, but there will always be a 
way for a mostly ad-free experience.  (I connect my phone to a VPN out of 
my home specifically so I don't have to deal with ads on my phone).

It really shouldn't be necessary to do that, though.
 
> (rant incoming)
> 
> I'm done with ads. I hate them. I grew up watching them on TV and seeing
> them in magazines, and I have had my fill. Here's a great Banksy quote
> about advertising:

That is a great quote.  My view on advertising has always been this:  When 
I want to buy something, I'll go look for what is the best option.  Until 
then, GTFO of my face.  The more obnoxious the ads are, the less likely I 
am to buy.  Same goes for salespeople - the ones who are pushy don't get 
my business.  The ones who tell me what they do and then leave me alone 
are going to get a look when I have a need I think they can fit.

I got really sick of e-mails from account executives "gently knocking" to 
see if I had 10 minutes to listen to their pitch.  If I don't respond, I 
don't have a need now.  Go away. ;)



-- 
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and 
besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw

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hi,

"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> "jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> > ... Ralph Records, Cleopatra..
>
> Huh, I haven't heard of them.

no worries, just showing my age :-)  (think I have ~20 years on you)


> ... But the name "Porcelain telephone" stood out as something
> interesting, so I had Bing make an image of it (notice the excess of numbers on
> the dial, haha).

I guess that dial looks about right -- for a company that has so many fingers in
so many pies.  </grin>


> Music is one of those funny things where you're unlikely to easily find another
> person with the same interests as you. (But I'll try to remember Ralph Records
> and do a search.)

yes.

fwiw, I had a look at Quiet Riot.  having always liked Slade, I thought the
cover of "feel the noise" pretty good.  also liked 'Metal Health' (one 'n', eh
?! :-)).


regards, jr.

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