-- 0156 UTC

Re: ~tomasino

Regarding the sensory coupling with a feeling, thinking about that, I do know of one specific instance:

Holding a warm mug of X, in both hands, on a cold day.  I get this warm fuzzy feeling all in my core, and it hearkens back to winter days during my childhood.  We would come back into the house from playing in the snow for (what felt like) hours, and my mom had made hot cocoa for us all.  Gripping the mug as best as one can, with small hands, wrapping both hands around the mug is the only way.

I always do that whenever I pour a hot cuppa whatever, and I have a moment to savor the feeling.

-- 0222 UTC

So, looking at the spectre and meltdown vulnerabilities making the rounds today...

They are only a problem if you run untrusted code on your machine, like Javascript in a browser.

TURN OFF JAVASCRIPT.

Let me repeat that:  TURN OFF JAVASCRIPT.

Install noscript on your machine, using the appropriate browser plugin.  Only allow scripts from trusted people to run.

That's all that is needed to mitigate it.  Don't use Java or Flash in your browser, either.

About 10 years ago, the advice of "Don't run untrusted executables on your machine" was rammed into every user's ear, every day.

Today?  Web developers encourage people to run every executable bit of code they happen upon when they enter a URI into a browser window.  You do not need to use javascript, now that we have HTML5.  So, stop doing it.  Start writing for HTML5 if you need an interactice site.

But, here's some news too:  Your site doesn't need to be "glam" and "sexy".  It needs to convey information.  If I can't view your site in a readable manner in a text-based browser, you've badly designed your site.

But, above all:  STOP MAKING YOUR USERS HAVE TO RUN RANDOM EXECUTABLES ON THEIR MACHINES.

You're making the internet unsafe, and unusable.

-- 0243 UTC

Re: ~gildev

Wow, a stick transmission, huh?  That's a toughh drive, especially if you're in a hilly area.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy an automatic is!

You may, however, try downshifting, to slow down, more than once.  It doesn't work so well in an automatic :)