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• Worker shortage could be bad news for Oregon economy

In populous regions like Multnomah and Washington Counties - Portland is in Multnomah - half of the open jobs are "difficult to fill" while in rural areas, three-quarters are.

It's not just me saying this.

Get A Fucking Job.

Russian Orthodox Church severs links with Constantinople

In a major religious split, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut ties with the body seen as the spiritual authority of the world's Orthodox Christians.

The break came after the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognised the independence of the Ukrainian Church from Moscow.

The row is being described as the greatest Orthodox split since the schism with Catholicism in 1054.

Relations soured after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Many Ukrainians accuse the Russian Church of siding with Russia-backed separatists in the east.

Russia sees Kiev as the historic cradle of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church now fears losing many of its 12,000 parishes in Ukraine.

Constantinople holds sway over more than 300 million Orthodox Christians across the world. The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the biggest.

Also at Reuters and The Guardian.

See also: Archbishop’s defiance threatens Putin’s vision of Russian greatness

Here's why I spent the night in the Emergency Room _twice_ last week, at a cost to the American taxpayer of I expect four thousand dollars:

My pharmacy had the wrong Washington Medicaid Member Number in their computer. I've had Medicaid twice; they kept trying to bill the old number, not the new one.

And just now when I gave them the _correct_ number off of Molina's Member Services website, they kept insisting that my Member # just absolutely _had_ to end in "WA". It does not!

However, they are _finally_ able to bill Molina, so by the time I get home tonight I'll _finally_ get to stop feeling like I just kicked heroin: I've been out of my Happy Pills for three solid weeks

Some gubernatorial candidate's website informed me that I was using "the wrong version of Internet Explorer" then refused to display anything at all.

In reality, I was using Safari 4.0.5 for Windows, running under Windows 7.

It has the Activity Window so I can fix tracking pixels that are static files, but because it doesn't support the Clipboard, I can't copy out the complex URLs for Javascript pixels.

For like three years I've been stressing over how to get Mac OS X 10.4 to run in a VM or an Emulator or some such when only just tonight did it occur to me to use Safari for Windows under Windows.

However, Safari for Windows works so poorly, even in a VM that has four CPUs and 4096 MB of RAM that in a moment I'll start setting up Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon, with the aim of using Safari for Windows under Wine. Which again: it simply did not occur to me until just tonight.

I recall that Safari 3's Activity Window supported the Clipboard. I expect Apple removed the Clipboard in version 4 because the Activity Window was an effective way to get the exact URL for videos, so you'd just copy its URL out of Activity, then paste into the address bar in a regular tab and you could save that video to your storage as G-d And Nature Intended.

I'm not sure when Apple completely removed the Activity Window but it's been quite a while now.

My unit is charging even as we speak

Other World Computing included a $100 off coupon for a case of wine. While not actually a teetotaler a whole case would last me until the end of time.

If you'd like it, mail your postal address to mdcrawford@gmail.com

After I somehow work up the gumption I'm going to sing on the street so I can hang at The 'Bucks while I work on Soggy Jobs.

I believe that other people have mentioned Iridium, here on the forum. For whatever reason, I've never messed with it. Never even followed up on it, to see what makes it special. In recent days, it has been mentioned multiple times in various discussions that I've read, but not elaborated on. So - interest piqued, I did a search for it.

https://iridiumbrowser.de/

A BROWSER SECURING YOUR PRIVACY. THAT’S IT.
DOWNLOAD

Iridium Browser is based on the Chromium code base. All modifications enhance the privacy of the user and make sure that the latest and best secure technologies are used. Automatic transmission of partial queries, keywords and metrics to central services is prevented and only occurs with the approval of the user. In addition, all our builds are reproducible and modifications are auditable, setting the project ahead of other secure browser providers.

There is a lot more to read on that page, like the manifest.

MANIFEST
IMPORTANT NOTICE

Before Iridium Browser, we had to decide if we wanted to have cutting edge technologies like sandboxed processes, WebRTC, WebUSB … , or if we wanted to use a browser that respects our privacy. So we decided to use the power of free software and build a browser that can do both. We analysed the code of Chromium and stripped out the functionality which exposes data to others in a way we don‘t like.
See most important changes here

Our ambition is to get builds for Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, RHEL/CentOS, Windows and macOS a couple of days after a new release of Chromium. To achieve this, we need help from individuals and organisations, who have the same intention. Currently there are weeks between a new release of Iridium and Chromium.
Please take this into consideration for your personal usage of the browser as you might be at risk when surfing unknown and potentially dangerous websites!
We feel, that as an application browser or as browser for trusted websites, this is acceptable.

Wow. Sounds good. It seems to address the reasons that I've used several other browsers, such as SRWare Iron, Cyberfox, and others.

Keep on reading, and I'm reminded of the reasons I was excited about Webkit when it was promoted by Google. (Bear in mind that Google didn't invent this thing, they took open source code from the KDE browser, Konqueror, enhanced it, and turned it loose under the Google name.)

Unfortunately, Google added some things that none of us need, and in fact, few of us know about. Hardcoded URLS for various purposes, all designed to collect information, and to push advertising. SRWare Iron addresses some of that, but - sometimes, it has just seemed that they didn't go far enough.

Iridium, though, has gone into the source code, and either removed or obfuscated those hard coded URL's. There is a whole page dedicated to the stuff that has been removed, or changed - https://github.com/iridium-browser/tracker/wiki/Differences-between-Iridium-and-Chromium

This page describes the changes we did in Iridium compared to the Chromium base version. Please note that this list might not be exhaustive, so always check the Git repository at https://git.iridiumbrowser.de/cgit.cgi/iridium-browser/ for the latest changes.

I've kicked it around for a couple days now. I'm just about to set Iridium as "default browser", to replace Cyberfox. (Default browser is the one that opens when you click a link someplace, like in a PDF. It has little to no effect on what happens inside of your non-default browsers.)

Resource-wise, Iridium uses about the same CPU and memory as SRWare Iron. (they don't have the same pages open, so maybe I shouldn't compare them like that, but they do have roughly the same number of pages open) Both seem to use slightly less resources than vanilla Chromium.

EDIT: I initially posted that Iridium is in the Debian repositories. That was wrong. Iridium happens to be in my distro's repository, so it popped up immediately when I did an apt-cache search. Iridium-browser is NOT in the Debian repositories. Most Debian users will have to add the Iridium repository, or compile it themselves from the git. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused!

The best thing about Iridium, for Debian users, it's in the repository.

#apt-get install iridium-browser

does it all for you. You'll get the standard output, telling you dependencies, and recommended libraries and documentation.

NOTE: Iridium isn't replacing my daily drivers. I have multiple browsers installed on my system, and I use them in different ways. Using Iridium (or any "hardened" browser) as "default" helps to insure that inadvertantly invoking a browser from a PDF file doesn't open the system up to anyone who might be watching for a phone-home thing to happen. It's a "secure browser", right?

You be the judge - click the link(s), read up, and decide how good Iridium is - or isn't.

Currently, Iridium Browser is available for the following operating systems:
Windows 7+ • macOS 10.9+ • Debian 8+, Mint 17+, Ubuntu 14.04+ (all 64-bit) • openSUSE Leap 42.3 and 15.0 • Fedora 27+ • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7+ | CentOS 7+

  Iridium Browser is not available for Android, iOS, Windows Mobile or any other mobile operating system!

I'm just going to put this out there for you all to think about. If you are taking your moral cues from politicians, pundits, or lobbying groups, you've got it precisely backwards. They are supposed to be taking their positions based on what you believe. The other way around is the tail wagging the dog.

Potentiometers and Variable Capacitors
        In the first installment, written over a decade ago, I bemoaned the loss of volume and tuning knobs on car radios, which had been stupidly replaced by buttons. By the second installment the knobs were back, although the knobs were digital, rather than analog.
        A potentiomenter is a variable resistor with three leads. Usually the control lead is the center and can raise the voltage to a second lead while lowering it to the third. In analog systems they were used as volume, tone, and balance controls. In stereo systems there were two stacked together, one for each channel.
        A variable capacitor was a capacitor where turning the knob one direction raised the capacitance, the other was lowered it. These were used for tuning radios, and UHF channels on early televisions.
        Never once did I ever see one of these two devices fail. Old potentiometers suffered from getting dirty, which caused a crackling noise when turned, and often made the sound silent. However, this was easily remedied with switch oil, sold at Radio Shack as color TV tuner cleaner. It only took removing a few screws to access them for cleaning.
        I drive a fifteen year old car, and the volume knob drives me nuts. Try to turn it up and the volume often goes down, or the reverse, or nothing at all. The digital tuner often jumps off the station. The old analog equipment never did that no matter how old it was.
        There’s no reason whatever to use digital switches for volume knobs, because all sound is analog and all amplifiers are analog. Potentiometers would still work well, and you can still buy them, but I don’t think I’ve seen one on any new stereo in this century.
        Why did they change? The mantra of youth, “new is always better!” Well, sometimes it is. Just as “reform” doesn’t mean “improve” but to change the form of something for better or worse, change can be better or worse.
        Digital volume and tuning controls have no advantages at all over the older tech, and many disadvantages. Changing this was just stupid.

Packaging that doesn’t need tools to open
        Back in the last century things generally came in thin cardboard boxes, simple things that were always easy to open and seldom needed tools, and the only needed tools for some were a knife or scissors. Now? They package things in hard plastic that sometimes breaks scissors!
        And it’s terrible for the environment. Over half of all plastic on Earth was manufactured in this century! There’s absolutely no rational or logical reason to imprison a product in a stupid, very hard to open plastic package. It seems that with some items, they gave more thought to the looks (but not usability) of the packaging than the actual merchandise!
        Stop making all that damned plastic and stop making it so damned hard to access everything I’ve bought!
        Now, easily opened packaging isn’t completely dead; they still use paper wrappers and cardboard boxes for fast food. But anything else? “Honey, have you seen the jackhammer?

Car windows you can open or close without the ignition in the operating position
        Now, I love power windows. It’s great to be able to roll up all your windows from the driver’s seat without having to pull over and open each door to roll the windows up. It’s also nice to be able to keep passengers from rolling them up or down.
        But why does the key have to be in the running position? I should be able to simply open the driver door and roll them up or down. When they’re rolled up and it’s hot outside, you certainly don’t want to put you upper body in that hundred fifty degree furnace!
        There’s absolutely no reason why I should need a key to roll a window down.
        This isn’t exactly on-topic, but when it starts raining, the windows should roll themselves up.

Glass soda bottles
        Plastic bottles make sense for a lot of things; viscous substances like shampoo and condiments are far better served by squeezable bottles, especially ketchup, which was hard to get out of a full glass bottle. Milk and other assorted liquids are fine in plastic, as long as the container has a flat bottom.
        But there is no good reason to put liquids, like soda or cooking oil, in plastic. Plastic is bad for the environment, particularly the oceans’ environments. The only reason it’s used is because it only takes a hundredth of a penny to make a glass bottle but a penny for a glass bottle.
        That saving of .99% of a penny does in no way make up for the environmental damage of plastic, nor for the instability of soda bottles. Beer still comes in glass bottles, and you can set one on the hood of your car easily. Not soda, a soda bottle’s design (which makes it look like it holds more soda) is unstable unless on a perfectly flat, level surface.
        But worse, plastic is pliable (or a plastic ketchup bottle would be useless), which means the soda will go flat much faster. That’s why they still use glass bottles for beer!
        As for cooking oil, if it’s on your stove when the oven is on, it will melt.
        Plastic soda and cooking oil bottles are not user-friendly, or environment friendly. Bring back glass!

Paper cups and straws
        As mentioned above, plastic is bad for the environment. There used to be no plastic cups or straws; they were made of thin waxed cardboard, and I see no reason why plastic cups and straws should cost any less than paper.
        They should bring back paper milk cartons, too.

Bezels
        They’re not dead yet, but it’s coming. Now, getting rid of bezels on TVs and monitors is a great innovation. The one on my new fifty five inch TV is only half an inch. But why do designers these days never look at how a device is going to be used? The bezel on my four inch phone is already too small, and I’ve read they’re so small on the new phones that they’re being called “bezel-less”.
        It’s stupid! The bezel on a phone or tablet is necessary to keep from accidental clicks, which my phone gets all the time. My tablets, with generous bezels, never do.
        Idiot designers, forget about cool, I don’t need to impress anyone with “innovation” that some stupid young hot shot came up with.
        Getting rid of phone bezels is almost as dumb as touch screen controls in cars, the most idiotically dangerous “innovation” in decades. You shouldn’t have to take your eyes off the road to adjust the heater or turn up the radio!

Foot operated car dimmer switches
        I don’t know ahat idiot in Japan... or was it Germany? Whatever, cars used to have foot switches to dim their headlights.
        And then some moron decided to move the dimmer switch to the turn signal. I guess whoever made that decision never used his turn signals and figured he’s add a use to the “useless” turn signal.
        But using your turn signal to turn or change lanes is the law in all fifty states (I don’t know about foreign countries). The problem occurs when you go to use the turn signal and blind some poor soul in an oncoming vehicle.
        Someone please fire these morons before they kill more of us!

I am back in the ER starting to feel a little more rational

I made sure the firemen and the EMTs wrote down my URL so they could read living with schizoaffective disorder

Will post after I chill for a while

A Suicidal Nanny, an Underground Industry and 3 Babies Stabbed

The Case of Jane Doe Ponytail