Detritus

Our* Privacy Policy

Have you read any of the hundreds you're recently received? Neither have I. Here's one for this blog and web site:

• I don't collect any personal information.
• In fact, I don't collect any information at all.
• Although I'm pretty certain I have at least a few thousand millireaders, I don't know how many thousand there are since what little analytics Google collects for me I ignore.
• If you send me an email, I'll probably read it and respond. I'll keep your email address since it's easier than deliberately erasing it.
• And the ever-popular, "this policy (such as it isn't) is subject to change."

I bet you've now finally read a privacy policy.

Political Correctness

I try not to write anything that is deliberately insulting to anyone. If you find anything in this blog that you believe I have written to insult you, feel free to let me know if you don't mind my saving your email address.

If I am insensitive enough to have written something that is insulting, inappropriate, or irritating to any person or group, please accept my apology. I'm whatever version of "elderly" or "old" or a "senior citizen" that is de rigueur this month and I'll hang my lack of recognition of my insensitivity on that. (Although I recognize that I am being "ageist" here, I think I can get away with that due to my age.)

The Economy is Good

I've been reading that the United States economy, despite any number of foreign and domestic political issues, is "good." I believe that to be correct. My personal indicia, beyond the usual government statistics, are these:

It's been over a year since Lindt has had a "50% off flash sale" in any of its stores. Just as bad, Godiva's current "annual sale" has been touting 25% off selected merchandise. They used to have two "annual sales," one in January and one in August, that offered desirable chocolate confections for 50% off.

I'm OK with a "good" economy, which in large part provides me with sufficient wealth to buy chocolate at only a modest discount. But I'm also a "good consumer" and try to discourage the backsliding mentioned above by withholding my custom. I'll find out how well that works and may issue a report in a later blogitem.

An Interesting and Surprising Factoid about Men

I read an article about how shopping is influenced by store layout. One of the remarkable observations quoted was that men are uncomfortable in supermarkets if they can't see the exit. Speaking for myself as a man, I have noticed no such discomfort.

There is Something Called Wonolo and Someone Called Harrison Frisbee

See?

I think they have something to do with "human resources." I'm on so many lists, and there seems to be no way to get off them. Unlike true spam ("Get your free undetectable knife"), this sort of semi-legitimate spam is sent out by companies who buy lists which are compiled haphazardly by evil scum. But they never tell you who the evil scum are, so there's no way to protest. Not that it would do any good.

An Interesting and Not So Surprising Factoid about Bananas

Those hideous and annoying strings you find on the surface of a peeled banana are called phloem bundles and serve to distribute nutrients to the rest of the banana. Although I didn't know that name, it's not surprising. All those little biology bits have goofy names. The physics folks (skyrmions, quarks, gluons) have nothing on the biologists!

Reading List

On a recent trip to Stockholm, we took an excursion to view Stieg Larson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) sites in the city. I didn't realize he had written two more books when he was alive and apparently intends to increase his output beyond that. I'm going to try to read at least the first three if I can find the time.

I did find the time to read Freeman Dyson's autobiographical Maker of Patterns. Although I was deprived of the privilege of hearing him speak some years ago, this book makes up for it in part.

Ask a Fossil (dot.com)

On a whim, I bought this domain name. Within a few days I got hundreds of ads offering to create my web site, and almost that many insisting that I need a logo and proposing to create one for me for between 80% off and 90% off. I'm holding out for 95%, though. And maybe some day I'll figure out why I bought the domain name in the first place.

* There is no "Our." It's actually "My" privacy policy, but who ever heard of someone having a privacy policy? Maybe that's why the computer always says "we" when making some comment about the state of its software.

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