Happy Birthday joy

To all of you birthday boys and girls, I wish you the best time during your celebration.  Don't forget to sing the Happy Birthday song.  For those who need some musical instruments to start off with the right tone, watch below video for some instructions.

 

Chicago temperatures feel like Chiberia

Today, Chicago's extreme cold must have been some kind of a record with -15 F (-26 C) going down to -30 F (-34 C) with wind chill.  Most of the country is experiencing freezing temperatures.  Even in north parts of Florida, the temperature is down to 40 F.

This kind of weather really makes me think of moving to California (77 F right now) or Hawaii.

After shoveling some snow, I realized that life is just too short to spend your days digging out cars and cleaning up your driveway.  The arctic blast prevents us from enjoying the snow also.  Frostbite is no joke so I won't let me son play outside either.  Yes, we try to entertain the family with the usual activities inside the house but it feels like a forced fun.

How do you deal with this cold weather?  Do you go out to the shopping mall, spend time on a computer, play cards, play guitar?  I'm willing to try new things.

Avicii and Dan Tyminski deliver "Hey Brother"

After the big hit called "Wake Me Up", Avicii (aka Tim Bergling,  is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer) follows up with another called "Hey Brother".  What struck me about this is the fact that the actual song performer is Dan Tyminski who's "Man of Constant Sorrow" was such a hit in a movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".   That's a bluegrass taken to the next level.  More info from Wiki:

Daniel John "Dan" Tyminski (born June 20, 1967) is an American bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He is a member of the band Alison Krauss and Union Station and has released two solo albums, Carry Me Across the Mountain (2000), on the Doobie Shea Records label, and Wheels (2008), on the Rounder Records label.[2] He is best known for his updated version of the song "Man of Constant Sorrow," which was featured in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and won the 2001 CMA award for best single as well as a Grammy Award for best Country Collaboration with Vocals (along with Harley Allen and Pat Enright, filling out the vocals for the movie's Soggy Bottom Boys). In total, he has won 14 Grammy awards[3] for solo and collaborative projects.

Just found out Macklemore is white

For the longest time I was certain that Macklemore was black. Until I saw the video. Is that racist? Nah. Just middle age.

 

Smokers should try Nick-O-Dick

Forget e-cigs. Kick the nasty habit the cool way. Try Nick-O-Dick.

 

NSA double standard when spying on the world

The ex-National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, who is currently taking advantage of an asylum in Russia, is still releasing stolen NSA documents to major newspapers (ex. UK Guardian) around the world.  In the latest wave of secrets revealed drama, the world dissevered that 35 of the close and not-so-close heads of states were under the NSA phone surveillance.

Angela Merkel expressed the most outrage since NSA listened to her cell phone conversations.  The White House, and President Obama, categorically denied that NSA is currently monitoring or will monitor Merkel's cell phone.  No explanation of the past sins.

Other presidents and prime ministers were also unhappy with the spying scandal.  However, the biggest question remains.  Why is the media outraged when a foreign politician's phone is tapped but when NSA infiltrates millions of private emails on Google and Yahoo, tracks all the cell phone conversation in US and billions around the world, the outrage dies out?

According to a top-secret accounting dated Jan. 9, 2013, the NSA’s acquisitions directorate sends millions of records every day from internal Yahoo and Google networks to data warehouses at the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md. In the preceding 30 days, the report said, field collectors had processed and sent back 181,280,466 new records — including “metadata,” which would indicate who sent or received e-mails and when, as well as content such as text, audio and video. - Washington Post 

Is simply a double standard for us, regular folks, versus the "all mighty" politicians, the "rulers" of the realm.  How does it feel to know that the laws you pass to control your population and spy on your own citizens somehow made a 360 turn and came back to ravage your privacy?  Doesn't feel right, does it?

And please, stop treating us like imbeciles.  The "metadata" is imbedded in the digital data.  Do you really think that NSA would go through all the trouble to collect all those records just strip them form the actual data?  It's like getting a popsicle and melting the ice to get the stick.

Will Angela Merkel or some other European country take action and end relationship with U.S.?  Highly unlikely.  With 46,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany, basically a lifeline to local economy, 11,000 in Italy, 10,000 in United Kingdom, and smaller deployments all over the Europe, U.S. is the only western country with enough power to run NATO and protect Europe and rest of the world.  The economic synergy between U.S. and Europe is also an essential part of the relationship.  So in short, Americans are free to do whatever they want under the umbrella of national security.

What we should worry about is the fact that privacy is long time gone.  With our lives revolving around webcams, smartphones, smart TVs, cable boxes with built in microphones, iPads, and laptops, hacking into any of those devices became a new surveillance standard.  I used to smirk at people who tape over their laptop webcams but now I consider them prophetic.  Thank you general brand blue painter's tape. Thank you for keeping my chiseled chest private.

Have a wonderful life

I would never imagine that one of my favorite songs from 1987 "Wonderful Life" by Black (Colin Vearncombe), would ever be in a place where the song's name is no longer recognized as "the song" from the eighties.
As of now, the English group "Hurts" (singer Theo Hutchcraft and synthesist Adam Anderson) is taking over the franchise for the title with their own iteration of "Wonderful Life".  Compare if you dare.

Black - Wonderful Life


Hurts - Wonderful Life