We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Pic: Finally! A computer system for people with 14 eyes!
Just to cover a few recent things that have popped up in my geeky little world:
Flash 64-bit Probs
I prefer using a 64-bit Windows system because it utilizes more of my machine's memory. The problem is that Flash, which until recently had a specific 64-bit version that worked just fine, now has a 'multi-system' version which doesn't. I've had various odd problems with both Internet Exploder and Firefox. If you're running a 64-bit system and having Flash probs, the best troubleshooting page I've come across is here. I think both #6 & 7 helped on this end.
Firefox 64-bit Probs
I'd never heard of a 64-bit Firefox, but I got to thinking about it, punched it into Google, and I'll be double-dipped if not only is there a 64-bit version, but that Mozilla officially killed it at one point — which naturally raised a huge outcry among its users and they brought it back. The sordid details are here. The 'official' release is still their multi-platform model; the 64-bit version is here if you want to give it a spin. Be forewarned that they not only changed the name from Firefox to 'Nightly', but changed the icon to something really horrid. The latter can be easily remedied; I'll have a post on changing the icon of an executable tomorrow. Note that you'll need the original EXE file for the original icon.
I've found over the years that I have two soap boxes I occasionally like clambering back on; system backup and getting your yourname.com domain before anyone else does. You only get one shot at it.
Gosh, if only them Congresscritters read Maggie's Farm, huh?
Live and learn, guys. More info on firing up your own domain here.
Security
You might have seen the plethora of articles this past week on temporarily disabling Java. Java is a 'helper' program for browsers (on every operating system, Mac and Linux users please note) so certain functions on a web site will work. It's also used widely by hackers to install malware on your system, and there's a whole new raft of bad stuff coming down the pike, hence the official alert to disable it.
Oracle, the home company, has just now released an update and it's strongly suggested you download & install it. The download site is here. Click the 'Download' button under 'JDK', click the 'Accept license' gadget, then the version for your particular system. Regular 32-bit Windows systems are 'Windows x86'.
I should note that some people think Java is so vulnerable that it should be re-written from the ground up — if not abandoned by web sites entirely — and they recommend you just flat-out disable it. Instructions are here; it's usually just the unchecking of a box. Speaking as a webmaster, I would note that Java isn't used very much these days and you probably won't notice a thing. If you were on some site which had a function you very much wanted to use but were getting a 'You need Java installed' message, you could always just flip it back on for a bit.
Any feedback or questions, give a holler in the comments like usual.
Winter is book season. What am I reading this week?
A classic: How To Run Any Organizationby Theodore Caplow. This splendid book is inexplicably out of print but used copies are readily available online for pennies. He covers everything from running a church choir to a medical practice to a corporate department.
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't. Nate Silver's new book.
It's the dumplings that make it worth eating. Good stuff. Otherwise, it's sort of like Chicken Soup or Chicken Stew, which are good if you have the flu but, otherwise, not too exciting.
A national "common core" for lower ed? I do not like that idea at all. I do not approve of any national authorities involved in education, much less curricula. Why do we have local school boards?
Gee, I almost forgot. We have them to apply for federal grants, which are, in turn, used to control state and local education from Washington.
Given the increasing centralization of everything, at least one fellow has something on the ball: David Coleman, Education Hero.
When young, most Americans never saw any tuna that did not come out of a can. Tuna Noodle was indeed a classic and, for Fridays, a Catholic standby. Cream of mushroom soup in it, of course: Tuna Noodle Casserole.
I would not want to eat it today unless I were starving. Was not even Catholic, just had enough of it.
Shucks, I almost forgot the notorious Tuna Surprise, aka Tuna Disappointment.
Italians do love their Mediterranean Tuna, and you can Google plenty of tasty Tuna sauce pasta recipes. Here's one: Italian Tuna and Pasta
Security came to my office this morning and said that they found a bucket with what appears to be medical waste in it in Driscoll Dining Hall. They thought it might an art project. It has been turned over to Health Services for testing to see if it’s real.
The failing of a central mission of the study of U.S. history--training future generations of American citizens--is, argues the NAS, based in a misunderstanding of the central mission of colleges and universities: that "they and particular programs within them increasingly think of themselves as responsible for reforming American society and curing it of prejudice and bigotry. When universities and university programs consider it necessary to atone for, and help erase, oppressions of the past, one way in which they do so is by depicting history as primarily a struggle of the downtrodden against rooted injustice . . . The dominance of race, class, and gender themes in history curricula came about through disciplinary mission creep. Historians and professors of United States history should return to their primary task: handing down the American story, as a whole, to future generations."
I've discussed the Gambler's Fallacy in the past (eg if you flip nine heads in a row, what are the odds the next toss will be a tail?). The inverse is another matter. Wiki gives this example:
Suppose a man walked into a room and saw someone rolling a pair of dice. Furthermore, imagine that the result of this dice roll is a double-six. The man entering the room would commit the Inverse Gambler's Fallacy if he said, "You've probably been rolling the dice for quite a while, since it's unlikely you would get a double-six on your first attempt."
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, was a black guy. His Dad was a famous French general, born in Haiti (then Saint Domingue - Santo Domingo).
Alexandre's novel was based, in part, on his Dad who also had a grueling imprisonment after being captured by the Neapolitans in Taranto after being shipwrecked.
Tom Reiss researched this book for almost ten years.
...reflexive calls for Washington to pick up the tab underscore one of the greatest shifts of power in American politics during the last four decades: the transition from state and local autonomy to federal subsidy and control. This centralization of government was made possible largely by grants-in-aid, money provided by the federal government to state and local governments or private parties. They have become the third largest category in the federal budget, trailing only Social Security and national defense.
Marco Rubio: Riding to the Immigration Rescue - Marco Rubio, Florida's GOP senator, unveils his reform ideas to 'modernize' the system and put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Whether you agree with his ideas or not, he deserves credit for taking the initiative.
3:15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
3:16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,
3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
A couple of years ago, on Lago Maggiore in northern Italy, my son and wife ate gelati and sat on the steps at night and listened to the choir rehearsing in the sanctuary. The structure on the right is the baptistery. (My photo)
Boring, unless you want to spend two hours looking at Jessica Chastain's quivering lips.
Argo, equally tedious.
Two movies in a row that kept me checking my watch to see how much longer I had to sit there. Much rather read a book. Why do I bother going to the movies? Well, to be a good husband.
You get a mess of big old quahogs or sea clams (steam open and then chop them up), or some chunks of fresh Codfish, Haddock, or Monkfish - or just a bag of frozen corn.
The base of your Yankee chowder is the same, whether Clam, Cod, or Corn. See Grandma's Corn Chowder for the base (substitute other ingredients for the corn).
You can add a little thickener if you want, corn starch or whatever. Not necessary, though.
My Mom would serve chowda with Bisquick biscuits. Good memories: Mom cooking up a chewy, clam-packed chowder with the basket of quahogs we kids had harvested from the low-tide mud off Great Island in Wellfleet.
Fellow parents: Our job is to build sustaining memories and traditions as best we can, isn't it?
You haven't heard of Peter Buck, PhD, but it's a story. Buck was an nuclear engineer, I believe for GE in Bridgeport, CT, and teaching an engineering class at the University of Bridgeport when he loaned a bright and hard-studying local student in one of his classes named Fred DeLuca $1000 to open a submarine sandwich shop to help him pay his way through college after the kid's family ran short of cash. That was 1965.
(I remember that first shop. I think it said "Submarines" on the sign, and I wondered what that was. I had had "grinders," but never a submarine. Just a 12" deli sandwich with lots of good stuff in it, as it turns out.)
A couple of years later Buck lent DeLuca a little bit more to open a second shop in Bridgeport, even though the first was not too profitable.
The privately-owned Subway now has 30,000 franchised restaurants worldwide. I don't believe that Dr. Buck ever worked for Subway or made any substantial further investments in the business but, based on their original deal, DeLuca and Buck have shared the profits ever since, 50-50. No lawsuits.
If you ever wondered why the Subway bags say "Doctor's Associates Inc" on them, it refers to Dr. Buck and his young engineering student Fred DeLuca, who remains the President of the Subway chain's corporation, Doctor's Associates.
The Buck and DeLuca families both still live in Fairfield County, each in fairly modest and quiet ways despite their unexpected wealth. Yes, I do like those Subway sandwiches, especially the Italian combo with Swiss cheese and some jalapenos on it. Oil and vinegar on top.
Their bread is too mushy for my taste, though. As Dr. Merc suggests, experiment with their different bread varieties. Still, compared to the burger chains, Subways are a treat when on the road, and they really do use prime and fresh ingredients.
I cannot eat a whole one. Just a half at most, and save the rest for later. My skinny daughter eats the whole thing.
More city co-eds turning to sugar daddies for school support
Pic: Finally! A computer system for people with 14 eyes! 
It's the dumplings that make it worth eating. Good stuff. Otherwise, it's sort of like Chicken Soup or Chicken Stew, which are good if you have the flu but, otherwise, not too exciting. 
When young, most Americans never saw any tuna that did not come out of a can. Tuna Noodle was indeed a classic and, for Fridays, a Catholic standby. Cream of mushroom soup in it, of course: 
Alexandre Dumas
You get a mess of big old quahogs or sea clams (steam open and then chop them up), or some chunks of fresh Codfish, Haddock, or Monkfish - or just a bag of frozen corn. 
A freshened-up re-post: