Started another batch of sauerkraut. Last one was good, but maybe I went too far with onion, fennel and other goodies. Going to go simple this time. Just cabbage and salt. Had it out in the garage all day and there was hardly any brine. Maybe too cold outside. Moved it to the kitchen for the evening. Looking better already. Maybe my family will even try some.
Took my wife out to Uchiko for her birthday.
Got up early this morning to let the dog out. I looked at the clock on my little weather station and quickly realized it wasn’t as early as I thought; the clock was an hour off. I’m still not sure what happened, but I wondered if the government shutdown might have led to problems with the clock sync signal these device use.
I have to admit, I don’t really know much about how this works. A quick Google shows that it uses a radio signal called WWV. From Wiki:
WWV is a shortwave (also known as “high frequency” (HF)) radio station, located near Fort Collins, Colorado. It is best known for its continuous time signal broadcasts begun in 1945, and is also used to establish official U.S. government frequency standards, with transmitters operating on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz.[1] WWV is operated by U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the oversight of its Time and Frequency Division, which is part of NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory based in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[2]
WWV was first established in 1919 by the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., and has been described as the oldest continuously-operating radio station in the United States.[3] In 1931 it relocated to the first of three suburban Maryland sites, before moving to its current location near Fort Collins in 1966. WWV shares this site with longwave (also known as “low frequency” (LF)) station WWVB, which transmits carrier and time code (no voice) at 60 kHz.
Google also turns up recent stories about proposed budget cuts that could shut down WWV and a similar stationing Hawaii, WWVH. From the Voice of America (learning English page — hey, why not!):
US Timekeeping Stations Might Go Silent
My wife mentioned this to me today. Found an article on it on Business Insider Nordic. Turns out CostCo is sold out, but you can get it on Amazon, too.
From Vice:
I Gave a Bounty Hunter $300. Then He Located Our Phone
Jan 8 2019, 11:08am
T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are selling access to their customers’ location data, and that data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the country.
From Quartz, an interview with Daniel Kahneman (Thinking Fast and Slow).
A Nobel Prize-winning psychologist says most people don’t really want to be happy
By Ephrat Livni
December 21, 2018
There was the recent altercation between mascots (UGA vs Bevo) and it made me half remember something I read about bulldogs. Turns out they were bred specifically for attacking bulls, hence the name. Maybe Bevo knew what he was doing after all.
The designation “bull” was applied because of the dog’s use in the sport of bull baiting. This entailed the setting of dogs (after placing wagers on each dog) onto a tethered bull. The dog that grabbed the bull by the nose and pinned it to the ground would be the victor. It was common for a bull to maim or kill several dogs at such an event, either by goring, tossing, or trampling. Over the centuries, dogs used for bull-baiting developed the stocky bodies and massive heads and jaws that typify the breed as well as a ferocious and savage temperament. Bull-baiting, along with bear-baiting, reached the peak of its popularity in England in the early 1800s until they were both made illegal by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835.
Had a thought over the holidays. Facebook has 2 – 2.5 billion users. Every year Facebook makes about $14 billion per quarter in revenues. Some rough numbers, but it seems your data is worth about $30 per year, at least to Facebook.
Now all things aren’t equal and some users are going to be worth more to advertisers than others. I am guessing it could be 2x or more. So maybe my value (or more precisely the value of my posts) to Facebook is worth, let’s say, $100 a year. I wonder if Facebook would allow people to pay some similar fee to keep their data more private. I mean, it shouldn’t matter to them, right?
I liked the RT (Russia Today) reporting on the Uga vs Bevo confrontation at the beginning of the Sugar Bowl. Oh, Horns won 28 – 21.
Mascot madness: Huge longhorn steer charges at bulldog before US college football game (VIDEO)
There was chaos ahead of the Sugar Bowl American college football game between Texas and Georgia when Texas mascot Bevo – a giant longhorn steer – charged at Georgia talisman Uga the bulldog.Bystanders were forced to scarper in fear as Bevo broke free from his somewhat flimsy enclosure and charged towards Uga.Despite being massively outweighed, Uga managed to dodge the giant steer before handlers managed to get Bevo back under control – much to the relief of those nearby.
Steven A. Guccione 