So, someone knocked on my door yesterday. That's rare. It was a quiet knock, I barely heard it. I spotted a car I didn't recognize in the drive. Also rare. I answered the door. There was a young, soon to be importunate young woman at the door. She was wary and pushy at the same time.
She pushed a garish pamphlet in my hand. She called me by name, which I found very mildly unpleasant. "Have you made up your mind to vote for so-and-so?" I looked at the circular while I wondered about the parsing of the sentence I just heard. It sounded like someone who had rehearsed the wrong line for a play, and delivered a joke during a death scene.
"No," I said. That's all I said.
"Great, I'll put you down as undecided." She produced a small clipboard from behind her back and made a mark. I thought it was fairly rude to record an answer to a question that wasn't put to me as a survey question.
She then asked for my wife by name. I said she was busy. She sort of demanded to see her. I said no. She said, "I'll put her down as undecided, then, too," made another mark on her clipboard, turned abruptly, and hustled off.
I had answered the question put to me truthfully. I had not yet made up my mind to vote for so and so. If he was on fire, I wouldn't piss on him, and if he died, my wife would attend his funeral in a red dress, but no, we had not yet made up our minds to vote for him.
There's everything you need to know about polls.
On to the links!
60% of small companies that suffer a cyber attack are out of business within six months.
I hate to blame the victim, so I won't. But the definition of "online retailer" should include knowing how to be online. Just sayin'.
Last week I was groped in virtual reality. Did you know that could happen? I didn't, but now I'm all the wiser.
Like most things in the news, I quickly came to the conclusion that everyone in the story and everyone involved in the production of the story was an idiot.
Argument preview: Court to consider copyright protection for cheerleading uniforms
Is Caligula's horse on the Supreme Court yet? And which end would cast the deciding vote on this burning question?
Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences
Yes, but were any of them virtually groped on descent?
MIT is using AI to create pure horror
Trust me, you'll pray for waterboarding once virtual reality headsets get going. Bonus: they make you throw up.
Iceland, a land of Vikings, braces for a Pirate Party takeover
It's really hard to produce a civilization. It's much easier to wreck it. There's no reverse gear in entropy. Enjoy.
The World's Knowledge Is Being Buried In a Salt Mine
Will my answer to the poll question be archived?
Ghost fleet: Explorers accidentally find a graveyard of more than 40 perfectly preserved ancient shipwrecks at the bottom of the Black Sea
I have a habit now. When I want to find out something about any news story in the United States or elsewhere, I go to the Daily Mail. It's an awful newspaper, but it publishes all the info it can get its hands on. Great pictures. An amazing find.
If you want to influence people don't try to persuade them. Use ‘pre-suasion’ instead.
An unmarked envelope filled with twenties also works, and saves time.
Tesla plunges in Consumer Reports' rankings
I'm trying to picture a Consumer Reports review of a Tesla: There's no place for my recumbent bicycle!
Poor kids who do everything right don’t do better than rich kids who do everything wrong
Notice what's missing? Any idea that humans should should have a multi-generational outlook on social mobility. Your grandparents did.
Two-thirds of child refugees screened by officials found to be adults, Home Office figures show
The other third will be marked down as "undecided" by the girl at my door.
Have a loverly day, everybody!
