"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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Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> 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.

Hey Jim. Haven't heard of Privoxy, but I have heard of the other two. Not sure I
could use Pi-Hole in my situation, since I borrow wifi. Besides, I don't have a
Raspberry Pi (and don't know if I could even get one at this point, due to the
shortage).

> 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).

Not sure if you're saying you sail the high seas or go only through the narrow
straits, haha. But, if you're getting ads for a service you paid for, then
that's pretty sucky on the service's part.

> 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).

I use Chrome for two things only: Gmail and WebGL stuff. Neither have ads,
except for a few promotions making their way into my inbox. I also might comment
on a YT video once in a blue moon as well, but generally, I try not to use
Chrome.

> > (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.

That's a reasonable stance, and it's the same one I hold. But I guess most
people don't feel the same? Otherwise: why would companies use these tactics?
They must be effective :/

Sam

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"jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> 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)

You just might. That would make you a bit younger than my dad, I'm guessing.
Hopefully you didn't get caught up in all the Vietnam BS (my dad didn't, but I
can't remember if he ever told me how he managed to avoid it).

> > ... 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>

Haha, true.

Funny I should be posting an image made with Microsoft's AI generator,
considering the topic and all. But so far, the adblocker I use seems to be
working just fine on Edge.

Microsoft does suck, and they're getting worse all the time. I paid over $100
for Windows 10 Home Edition, and it doesn't even let me stop updates? I think
I'll be moving on to Linux next time I have to make a choice. Seems like Linux
distros support almost everything I want anyway (Blender, POV-Ray, Gimp,
emulators, etc.), save for maybe one or two Steam games that aren't compatible
with Proton.

> 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.

I didn't know Quiet Riot was inspired by another band until recently. It took me
til last year before I heard about Slade. My favorites are Far Far Away and My
oh My. Such happy tunes.

Sam

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Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:

> 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. ;)

Awesome.
Now do it for the government and their unsolicited "services".

Taxes Are Stealing EP (Corporate Avenger) (Full EP) (Suburban Noize Records)
https://vimeo.com/492915351

https://fee.org/resources/not-your-to-give/

My favorite Banksy quote is:
"The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules
but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs
and massacre villages."

- BE

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"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:

> Hopefully you didn't get caught up in all the Vietnam BS (my dad didn't, but I
> can't remember if he ever told me how he managed to avoid it).



We had a General Dynamics plant in our town, and I remember protests, and big
"peace symbol" graffiti on buildings, and going to some kind of hippy anti-war
things with my aunt and uncle.
My dad was an MP.  _Something_ happened over there - any time I'd bring up
Vietnam, both of my parents faces ... changed, darkly, and they got real quiet.

> > > ... 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 used to have one of those sitting on the nightstand next to the Surrealistic
Pillow on my bed.   :P


> I didn't know Quiet Riot was inspired by another band until recently. It took me
> til last year before I heard about Slade. My favorites are Far Far Away and My
> oh My. Such happy tunes.

Slade had some hilarious videos on MTV back in the day.  I used to love them
when I could sneak a peek on cable at my grandparents' house.

I actually got to see QR at a tiny little bar in College Park, MD when I was in
graduate school.  I got completely polluted and somehow managed to walk home
halfway across town.  Managed to climb into bed and fall instantly asleep fully
clothed.  :D

- BW

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Op 14/08/2023 om 02:07 schreef Samuel B.:
> 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
> 
Probably the Five Eyes were not affected by Brexit as they are/operate 
supranationally anyway. And nowadays with Nine Eyes or Fourteen Eyes, 
and whatever else exists out there which we are not/hardly aware of...

-- 
Thomas

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hi,

"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> You just might. That would make you a bit younger than my dad, I'm guessing.
> Hopefully you didn't get caught up in all the Vietnam BS (my dad didn't, but I
> can't remember if he ever told me how he managed to avoid it).

not sure what support (at that time, if any) the US of A got from France, but
"us Europeans" had no hand in that.


> ...
> Microsoft does suck, and they're getting worse all the time. I paid over $100
> for Windows 10 Home Edition, and it doesn't even let me stop updates?

I used to "hate" auto-updates, still do.  however, for "life online" it is
better to have an up-to-date OS, imo (think online banking etc).  suggest: a
"cheap" laptop where that company (Google, in my case) can "dictate" the s/ware,
and on one of "your" machines set up a SMB share where you share stuff with the
laptop.


> ... Such happy tunes.

yes, and .. historical :-).  what is your current "happy tune" ? (like the
notion)  link to my current, also a "nominee for earworm of the year" ? :-)
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYeTVqbmK9U>


regards, jr.

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