Never forget. It’s always about the money.

The world can be kind of stupid...

That's obvious, right? 

Here's my story: I created a youtube video that I published.  It was based on a podcast I had done more than a dozen years ago, and included nothing new - it was a re-edit with videos included.

Having been that long ago, I didn't recall from where I sourced the materials, and rolled with it.  I did do a cursory search, to see if there was anything that I might have borrowed (if you will), but came up empty.

Flash forward to the video being active for a couple of weeks.  Some random guy posts that I have infringed on his copyright via a comment on the video.  I reply, and ask for details and offer an email address to contact me, (aside: sometimes you get weirdos commenting, so its better to take things like this "seriously" - but offline)

No answer.  Then, I get a notification from youtube that they received a copyright notice with a takedown request.  The name is the same as the guy who commented, and now I have an email address.  But two key things:

• the person claimed that his content was used in the entire video.  That was definitely NOT the case.  There is a section where I played audio, which was not his, and another few places where I talked about a few things that I had knowledge about. Those could not have been his. 

• As "proof" he pointed youtube to an archive.org site that contained NONE of what I had in the video.  And his actual site is no longer active. (to be fair, I have a recollection of visiting his site, and getting some info, but what and how much, I can't recall OR VERIFY)

Youtube provides no other information or ability to contact anyone, but suggested I reach out to the content owner to resolve the situation.  I did.  I asked if we could leave it up with attribution (and disabling any monetization), and he agreed.

But then I got notified that I didn't take action and the video was removed and I received a copyright strike.  And I have no further recourse, other than legal action.

So in other words, he claimed it was all his and provided "proof" that was anything but.  My video is gone.  And I can do nothing about it.

That's just stupid.  

Of course, I have thoughts about how this was handled.  The person who made the claim was kind of a dick about all of it.  Come at me and just put a takedown request without a discussion? And when I suggested he - as recommended -  simply rescind the takedown and instead submit a copyright notice, he basically blew me off.
Thanks for nothing, pal.

Well that’s different

A variation on a phishing scam that doesn't require a computer. 

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Apr 2

 Dave’s Musings

The Conversation has an interesting op-ed type of report called "How Florida's home insurance market became so dysfunctional, so fast."

TL;DR it has everything to do with climate change and how its impacting Florida's rather long coast line (second in the nation to Alaska, first in the lower 48 at more than 1,300 miles). And how the reinsurance market has become a problem unto itself, primarily because of the risks of climate change.

So if you want to see an example of how changing climates impact our everyday lives, look to the insurance market in Florida, California, and other states that are seeing more impacts and rising insurance costs.

https://theconversation.com/how-floridas-home-insurance-market-became-so-dysfunctional-so-fast-217055

The Voyager I spacecraft (which was launched over 45 years ago!) was expected to end its useful life some years ago. Yet, it kept sending back data for a few more years. That is, until it suddenly started sending back gibberish which the team thought meant that it had finally reached its end of life. But a few intrepid scientists stayed with it, and they think they have figured out what's causing the gibberish and (more importantly) how to fix it. Because of the distance, communication takes a long time - and it will be many months before they will know if it works. Still, its intriguing that there's still the potential for useful information to come back. https://gizmodo.com/nasa-voyager-1-reconnects-data-glitch-1851334565

An educator at the University of Alberta has come up with an ingenious, low-cost alternative for a wireless light switch that doesn't require power or a battery to operate. Instead, it translates RF power from a base station into the electrical energy needed to operate. How futuristic! "By enabling the wireless control of each section of homes. our solution prevents unnecessary use of energy, which in turn lowers energy bills and reduces carbon emissions." https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/wireless-light-switch-batteryless-home/

Disney always looks to innovate and often create new ride technology that sets new standards. Take the ride Soarin', which lifts guests in a sort of gondola as they view a screen in front. The imagineer who thought it up built a prototype using an old Erector set he had in his basement. And now, the company has an idea how to up that to a new level and create a more flexible design that can provide for more movement - or perhaps provide for thrills. BlogMickey noted a new patent filing that explains it all. https://blogmickey.com/2024/03/disney-files-patent-for-soarin-2-0-flying-theater-ride-with-greater-thrill-more-complex-range-of-motion/

Here's a story about an heiress who announced she is giving away her fortune. But its more than that. She wants to have a greater purpose and realizes that one person may make a decision that may not be as well thought out. As an example, we saw what happened with Mackenzie Scott (Jeff Bezos's ex-wife) and how there was an amount of mansplaining that followed her decision to donate to charities. And so Marlene Englehorn announced that "Extreme wealth as power must be regulated" and "that the process must be more democratic" - and thus solicited 50 people who represent average Austrians to help her to figure out what to do with the money. They have met, and will continue to meet in order to decide what the best use of the money will be. “I’m not so fixated on the result. The most important  thing to me is the public discussion of wealth and equality.” https://fortune.com/europe/2024/03/15/austrian-heiress-basf-gives-away-27-million-basf-no-taxes/

Latest video

I'm talking about the Hall of Presidents at Disney World https://youtu.be/vbHFlG0PJgc

One Little Spark …

This a really good, long-form article about retail theft. CNBC reporters embedded with police forces around the country to see how they were dealing with rises in retail theft. I'll leave you to read it, but a couple of key takeaways that I noted: much of the large-scale retail is a form of well-organized crime, and the extent of the "rise of retail theft" is greatly overstated by retailers looking to make noise, or pad their bottom lines. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/inside-organized-crime-rings-targeting-retailers-ulta-tjx-walgreens.html

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Mar 26

 Dave’s Musings

The majority of the "Don't Say Gay" legislation in Florida has been implemented, even though it continues to work its way through the court system due to various legal challenges.

But there was one piece for which the teacher's union sued the state, and they reached a settlement a few weeks ago. This was about the conduct of teachers outside of the framework of actual classroom teaching. In short, the state has agreed to let teachers continue to express themselves, to talk about identity and relationships, and to use terms and names that students prefer - as long as they are "not taught."

Make no mistake: it is a victory against the nonsense that the state put out there under the guise of "protecting children" when in reality it was to "keep children in the dark," "restricting free speech," and to "make it hard for them to figure out who they are and who they can talk to."

Its a bit of good news, and a starting point.

I ran out of space in the last newsletter, but a little over a week ago, we saw attempt #3 at launching Starship. The net outcome is more progress toward a truly reusable very large craft. On the positive side: They were able to ignite all the engines on the first stage They were successful at "hot staging" the second stage They reached orbital insertion This is the largest man-made object to be launched into space They opened the outer doors, which means they could launch a satellite in the future They were able to pump fuel from one tank to another (a requirement for deep space travel) They made a re-entry maneuver, and could generally control descent. On the downside: The first stage did not have its rockets re-ignite, and was lost The second stage was also lost as it re-entered the atmosphere - but not before we got some amazing video, including seeing the plasma that built up around the craft. Failure is always an option, and the learnings will lead to more success in the future, I'm sure.

A couple of researchers in the Netherlands are proposing what they call a "heat battery" which uses sodium and water to create water vapor, which cools, and has a byproduct of salt, which stores the heat. The overall effect is that you could cool a building's roof with the vapor - while simultaneously using the trapped heat to eliminate the need for a water heater. Its tremendously environmentally forward-thinking. Even though the concept has been considered before, it could never be used at scale. And the next step is to put the theory into practice in a neighborhood in Europe. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/heat-battery-home-power-electricity-efficient/

Ahead of the proxy vote, there is some (conveniently) leaked information about 4 people the Walt Disney company has tagged as possible successors to Bob Iger in the CEO role. The names should officially be considered rumors. And I wouldn't doubt the number of possible candidates is closer to 8 at this point, possibly with some coming from the outside (but who have ties to Disney). The 4 people we learned about are Dana Walden, who currently heads up the linear TV division, Jimmy Pitaro, who runs ESPN, Alan Bergman, who runs the film business, and Josh D'Amaro who runs theme parks. Its an interesting list, and its deliberate in its intent to show that there is NO intent to break the company up at this time.

Proving once again that Florida politicians are so in touch with their constituents, and apparently because they just look for things to support the interests of the big players in Florida (ie, insurance and utilities), legislators passed a law that would prohibit off-shore wind farms because, essentially, they would be ugly. Of course, it doesn't much matter, because the placement of them would be further off the coast, where Florida's domain ceases to exist. And if, in fact, the utilities themselves wanted wind farms, they'd get the legislature to update the law. This is another case of grandstanding. For no real reason. https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/florida-moves-to-ban-nonexistent-offshore-wind-over-views-from-the-beach/2-1-1609069

Latest video

Gas or Electric in cars. Which is cheaper? https://youtu.be/b2qbLblo6rU

One Little Spark …

I’m troubled by the discussion about TikTok being bad, and wanting to ban it. And saying that data privacy is a concern, that the Chinese government can use it to collect data and influence, etc, etc, etc. is problematic. Look, I’m not saying TikTok is anything great or that there isn’t something to discuss. But singling it out among the various social media platforms seems motivated by something more (politics I would assume) Children’s privacy and mental health is a concern on all the platforms.  But there are dozens of small players where the denizens sometimes hangout. Who’s watching those? And to the other two big players: Meta’s Instagram is allowed to promote videos it chooses, and we have no idea what the algorithm is, or how data is being used (or shared). Xitter has a vague privacy policy, and its owner said he would disseminate information about the platform to whoever he thinks requires it. And of course he wants to use it to develop his own AI solutions. Overall, I have no issues with trying to mediate these platforms - all of them - in a reasonable way. Freedom of speech is fine, except when the government has issues with that and restricts it.

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Mar 19

 Dave’s Musings

I've been reading a lot about the state of working in the US, and specifically, how companies are "forcing" employees to come back to work full time. All the while, not considering that costs have gone up for commuting and associated work-related items - and there are no pay increases offered. Yet, company profits continue to rise. And companies also don't listen to what their employees want beyond a modest increase: they simply assume that a ping pong table will draw people in.

A recent survey shows that employee engagement is at an all time low in this country, hovering below 33% of workers saying they feel engaged. Employers want to be a "family" type environment. Workers increasingly want actual family first, with work being a component of life.

Meanwhile, in Europe and the UK, employee engagement is quite high (and increasing). The reasons are varied, but include the labor laws, the fact that companies listen to employees, that they value employee satisfaction over corporate greed, that they don't try to force employees to do whatever nonsense, that healthcare is not tied to a job, and so on.

By the way, the UK toyed with an idea for a 4 day work week - that is a total of 32 hours of work for the same pay - and it was fairly successful and productivity went UP during the testing phase. And most companies in the pilot are adopting it going forward.

Here at home, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation for the same in the US. It was met with derision by his GOP colleagues, so its naturally going nowhere. But it does get some press.

Still, maybe US companies could learn a thing or two about how to get employees engaged again.

Last week, SpaceX completed a rare feat. They launched a series of satellites from Vandenburg, California, and then a few hours later, they launched satellites from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's remarkable how efficient private companies can be; NASA used to take months between various launches. You can watch both launches here: https://youtu.be/TF0Ct0TOnGY

A little outside-the-box thinking goes a long way. Neutrino detection on a large scale has proven to be somewhat elusive. But, having the ability to detect them may help expand our understanding of our universe. A group of scientists has suggested that a forest may provide a large enough antenna, and all they have to do is to nail a wire onto each tree to connect them and build a full antenna. Will it work? Who knows? But its a simple idea that is "just crazy enough" to work. https://www.science-news.org/article/forests-neutrino-detectors-physics

The Walt Disney company announced a large-scale expansion of Disneyland. This is remarkable because Disneyland is pretty well locked into the small-ish piece of real estate they hold in Anaheim. But they have plans to purchase some of the surrounding properties, to ask for some variances to the building codes, and to have the city and county to allow roads to be moved and enhanced. Disney would create a mega complex, that is more immersive, and perhaps a little more like Disney World in some ways. And they would create affordable housing and other things to help the community. Good idea? Bad idea? I really can't say. But locals are skeptical due to the current physical constraints.  In any event, they passed the first hurdle, by getting the city commission approval in a 5-1 vote. The lone dissenter made an amusing comment as the meeting dragged on - that he had forgotten to cancel his park reservation. So even though he voted against it, I guess he's a fan.

I really like infographics. There are really cool ways to display information that display information concisely. That principle can extend to other things, like maps for example. You can get a lot of information simply by changing your point of view. Here's a fun look at 35 maps of the world that allow you to change your point of view: https://pleated-jeans.com/2024/03/06/amazing-maps-of-the-world/

Latest video

I created a video that pays tribute to the history of Walt Disney World's monorail system. https://youtu.be/LFtv_yIPxEc?si=tF6sSMF2KCrAEmYO

One Little Spark …

Climate change continues to be a real threat. As we've seen in the past, the most vulnerable are those we consider poor. But the wealthy, as residents on this planet, can be impacted as well. In some cases, because they made a decision to purchase property in an area that is directly impacted by changes. Here are two recent examples of what that means in the real world: California landslide threatens home Florida home shows beach erosion Problem one is that they shouldn't be building in sensitive areas; insurance or the communities around them will surely have to pay to remediate this. And problem two is that in many cases related to erosion, the community has to make a decision to save a house, or to restore the beach; both can't be done for practical or financial reasons. And because we get mired in politics, and the wealthy exude their influence, we all lose.

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Mar 12

 Dave’s Musings

Another year, another time change. For some reason, we're still hung up changing the time twice a year. And though we voted in Florida to stay on Daylight Savings Time .... 6 years ago! ... we're still doing the same business. Because it takes a literal act of congress to officially make this permanent. And they're much too busy with the mishegas of the day to have a straight up/down vote that might take 5 minutes.

By the way, its more complicated, because the suggested legislation leaves it open to the states to decide what to do, but proposes Savings Time should be the year-round answer. And of course, there's a group lobbying for it to be Standard Time. Which leads some legislators to urge "more study" before committing to something.

It never made any sense to have the time change, and its history is very suspect. But here we are.

On the bright side, there are very few clocks to physically change, and other than having a moment here and there where you feel out of synch a little (which lasts for a few days), it really doesn't make much of a difference, really.

Back in late February, a satellite that has been in space since 1995 fell back to Earth. It was not at all unexpected, as the satellite had served it purpose, and the owning European agency had done any preparations they could to reduce the risks. And they had even predicted the trajectory and location, though their time estimates were off by about 2 hours. It supposedly "burned up on re-entry" but there are questions about that, and no one can verify what happened, since it fell into the pacific ocean. Still, the risk is very real with all the junk we have floating above our planet. At some point, a satellite may re-enter Earth's atmosphere and stay largely intact, and could pose a threat somewhere. There needs to be more of an effort to plan for end of life for these space objects, more effort in understanding and predicting when/where they will return, and naturally finding a means to clean up more of it before it becomes a problem. https://www.space.com/ers-2-satellite-crash-space-junk-wakeup-call

Climate change has a direct impact on everyday life. In the attached story, TV host and food blogger Andrew Zimmern talks about why there was a $24 bill at Five Guys that went viral. Essentially, there are water shortages, there are fires and floods, there are other climate factors that have affected the cattle population. And that is in addition to crops being similarly impacted, increasing prices on tomatoes and other produce. Its a good read; he lays it out well and shares some insights. When reading it, think about the in the context of climate change. It really does affect us all. [Please note that the site this article appears on is a conservative news outlet. While I found it interesting, there are linked articles, other content on the page, and comments that belie the nature of this particular piece] https://komonews.com/amp/news/nation-world/andrew-zimmern-explains-why-your-five-guys-order-is-24-bizarre-foods-travel-channel-beef-prices-anti-trust-inventory-cattle-texas-fire-tomatoes-labor-rights-wages-benefits-addiction-low-costs-chicken-ukraine-russia-grain-oil-fast-food

This is an interesting article that talks about Disney being "woke" but notes that Disney has essentially always been that way, and has changed perceptions by using their ability to tell stories, specifically regarding the environment. I would argue that its even more profound. Walt Disney himself had an outstanding ability to unite people and bring about some changes (both in reality and in our way of thinking). You can call it whatever name you want, but Disney has always been a kind of bellwether. The company can change perceptions, typically for the better. https://time.com/6693810/disney-environmental-films-woke/

This story is sad in so many ways, but still highly amusing. In short, a vegan storefront purchased donuts from a local baker. They were supposed to be gluten free and vegan. They tested them, and they were neither. And some of them had a frosting with a trademarked "D" from Dunkin. Apparently, this bakery was passing off Dunkin donuts as their own, and mislabeling them to boot. This is the world we live in... https://www.delish.com/food-news/a60113389/vegan-baker-selling-dunkin-donuts/

Latest video

Here is my take on Moon Landings: https://youtu.be/a9GdCy-4DWY?si=7mSvsHVn-HWfHnur

One Little Spark …

The United States effectively eradicated measles as a disease in the late 20th century. And yet, thanks to foolish people, and even more foolish (and misguided) people in positions of power who guide in-DUH-viduals, we have seen measles outbreaks occur throughout the US in recent years. A few weeks ago, we had an outbreak at an elementary school here in South Florida. But here's the oddity of it all: the state, and the local school board, require that all students have a signed health form which includes a requirement that they have had the MMR vaccine. And yet, apparently they (and many other students) didn't fill in the required forms to attend the school. The school responded by essentially saying and doing nothing - though they did offered free MMR vaccines to students and their families. The problem here actually lies with the state, and in particular the surgeon general who appears to have graduated from medical school, but who is decidedly anti-vaxx and sees this not as a public health problem, but rather an indication that people are "listening" and not vaccinating. Somehow this is twisted to being good, and the state tacitly accepts waivers from those pesky health requirements - just don't turn them in! This is a problem that will (sadly) only grow over time. People listen to their crazy uncle, and eschew actual science. And some of those people get into positions of power and cause harm to us all.