Courtesy, allows two strangers, who may not even like each other, to communicate peacefully and get things done.

In case you missed it, there is a new forum about web directories and curated methods of discovering the independent web.

I should go out to a meeting tonight but I finally got warm and comfy in the Ultimate Command Recliner and I don’t want to leave.

Let’s be clear: Populism is a reaction by a certain group, when they become convinced that the intitutions of government are no longer responding to their wants and needs. It requires a pervasive perception that “things are broken” and government has been co-opted by special interests.

We associate populism with the Right, but Populism is pervading both the Right and the Left in our society.

When we automatically, take to the streets in protest marches, that is a form of Populism too, even if the causes are climate change, minority rights etc., we are doing so because we don’t trust our governmental institutions to fairly represent our concerns and to honestly pay attention to our petitions for redress.

Therefore, if you are wearing a MAGA cap or if you are on the streets for action against climate change, it’s all a form of populism even if the goals are different.

(Please note: I’m not making a statement that demonstrations are defacto wrong. Just that the root motivations are similar.)

I see no sign of the swamp draining. To my eye, the swamp is spreading.

Tim Berners-Lee has launched Contract for the Web This seems like a positive step.

Apple needs an iOS thing that automatically diagnoses which part of the Internet is not connecting: Comcast, your WiFi router, your VPN, your cell carrier, your iPhone or that God just hates you. This would save a lot of time Scud hunting for the broken link. Default would be Comcast is down, because odds.

And while I’m complaining why has my very expensive iPhone quite Swooshing when I send emails? Is this an iOS 13 bug? I want the swoosh back damnit, I paid through the nose for it.

Okay so Apple, consider that The Internet is Stuffed Up app because this happens way too often. Just sayin.

Two Amazon vans plus a UPS truck stopped on my block at the same time, all delivering stuff from Amazon. #crossingthestreams

Adventures in Digital: My 88 yr old mother just got a new microwave. Her old one was 50 years old and had a dial that you turned to set the time. New one is all digital. I spent 25 minutes on the phone explaining how to use it. Mom is analog only. I’m a good son. :-)

I just installed the Fraidy Cat browser extension for Vivaldi browser and I’m liking it alot. It crosses the divide between blogs and social networks so you can track RSS feeds from blogs plus what your buddies on Twitter are saying all on the same reader.

Like: Narwhal Microblog Plugin for WordPress: Quickly Posting Notes to your IndieWeb Site by Chris Aldrich for the indepth review and how to.

Study: Asian carp crowding out native fish on Mississippi River - AP. There has to be some way we can over fish the hell out of Asian Carp. Dog food? Cat food? Human food, process and sell it to cultures that like carp?

Although I’ve caught bits of the Trump impeachment hearings on the radio (NPR) in the car, I can’t bring myself to try and watch/listen to more. I got my dose during the Watergate hearings. I was in Junior High and tried to catch as much as I could. On top of the whole Vietnam War thing of many years, the Cold War, the Bomb, Watergate made it seem to me, like the whole nation was coming apart.

I, we, the nation survived. Not stronger, but we survived.

So for the Trump Impeachment, I think younger citizens should watch and they should draw their own conclusions based on the evidence. History is being made. But for me: been there, done that, it’s a shame we’ve come to this - again. So I’ll take the highlight reel.

Green Dragon Apples I saw them in the store for the first time so tried a couple. Very sweet. Too sweet for my taste. Juicy grainy texture. Deep pear-like flavor. I like apples with some tartness to them, but if you like sweet you might like.

I just got reminded why I don’t like Blu-Ray: it’s because all the Blu-Ray players suck. That simple. The whole Blu-Ray format sucks. Steve Jobs was right to be wary of it when it came out. I’ve had 3 players, 3 brands, over the years and they all sucked. Back to DVD.

Most people who want to use Linux take an old Windows computer and install Linux on it. That is certainly a good option for those who want to take that route.

However, many people like myself just want to buy a new computer with Linux (probably Ubuntu Linux) already installed and ready to go, in the same way you would buy a Windows or Macintosh computer. There is good news, you can buy a computer with Linux pre-installed. Here are a couple of good places to buy from.

Budget Linux Computers

LinuCity.com is a small firm that takes new old stock (previously unsold) or overstock Windows computers, erases Windows and then installs Ubuntu Linux. This means you can get a new Ubuntu Linux computer for a lot less money than you would pay for a built from scratch machine. I have ordered several computers from LinuCity over the years and have been very satisfied.

The website is not slick or fancy but don’t let that turn you off. Stock changes all the time so there are constantly new brands and models becoming available. In laptops you will recognize most of the brands that come up: Lenovo, HP, Acer, Toshiba, etc.. generally low to middle range (sometimes high-middle range) models. They also have desktop computers too.

High End Linux Computers

With these you are going to find Apple Mac-like prices. Still, check them out they may prove more affordable than you thought.

Zareason assembles their own computers from quality Linux compatible componants. These computers are a attractive and durable. I have ordered at least one laptop from Zareason and was completely satisfied.

An added benefit of buying from Zareason is you can choose which Linux distro (version) you want installed: Ubuntu Linux is the default and a good choice or you can specify from others or you can write in a Linux distro that is not listed so this is an opportunity to have sometthing like Elementary OS Linux installed. (Elementary is Linux with a more Mac-like UI.)

Dell makes Ubuntu laptops and desktops but they do not sell them in stores. The XPS 13 Developer Edition is a high quality laptop. I have never ordered one, but this will probably be my next Linux laptop.

There are other companies out there that sell Linux computers, but I have limited this to companies that I have had a good experience with or in the case of Dell which is sort of the gold standard of linux laptops.

Why Ubuntu?

I always recommend Ubuntu Linux by default for people new to Linux. Ubuntu has a good UI, and is targeted at a broad, mainstream audience. It’s stable, well thought out and equipped with an app store full of good useful software: games, office, web. I’ve tried other Linux distros, but I keep coming back to Ubuntu.

I’m finally going to buy a Blu-ray player. I’m looking for simple, quality, durable. I’m assuming backward compatability with regular DVD’s. Any suggestions? Any type I should avoid?

Okay #nwindiana who’s the joker that ordered snow, wind and cold all at the same time?

This is a good Twitter thread about using Web Panels in Vivaldi web browser. One use I can see for my own use is to make a Panel of my Pinboard bookmarks. Check that thread for full instructions.

PinePhone: Everything You Need to Know About This Linux Smartphone | OMG Ubuntu

Hillary Clinton had her “vast right wing conspiracy,” and Trump has his “deep state” conspiracy. Both of those are small beer compared to the “eclair shortage conspiracy” I’ve just made up. The cool case has been “broken” at the supermarket bakery for 3 weeks and eclairs, when available, have shot up in price from 3 for $5 to $2 each. The other supermarket in town didn’t have ANY eclairs.

Something dodgy is going on and the eclair cartel is behind it. Watch your back.

At US $200 the Pinebook Pro looks like a really good (and cheap) alternative to a Chromebook. The Pinebook Pro can run many differnt Linux versions so you get a full OS not just Google Chrome. There are installers available for the most popular versions.

Chromebooks are not cheap and they have the added problems of compromising your privacy that all Google products have.

The Pinebook Pro makes a good alternate choice for surfing the web, light computing or something cheap for travel.

Privacy search engine DuckDuckGo has a couple of privacy newsletters. I’ve only subscribed to the Privacy Weekly one and I find it useful and interesting.

Top 10 Cloud Storage Linux Providers Decent list.

It’s been awhile since I used Ubuntu Linux, one thing Ubuntu has going for it is a lot of software in it’s “store”. I’ve looked at the software stores (repositories) on both Pure OS and Pop OS and they are pretty sparce. This is because many Linux distros have agendas like minimalism or FOSS only. But Ubuntu is more for people coming over from Windows or macOS and they don’t want to go on a Scud-hunt looking for software to fill their needs.

So just looking at the Ubuntu store, it has tons of games you can download, if you need a Markdown editor it has several, if you need an RSS reader, again, several, paint programs, photo manipulation, Office type stuff - ditto, ditto ditto. Ubuntu has done well in this department and frankly it’s better than the Windows 10 software store. If you want the general public to adopt your OS you have to appeal to the broad base of users. Other Linux distros take heed.