Meta injecting code into websites to track its users, research says | Meta | The Guardian
“Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been rewriting websites its users visit, letting the company follow them across the web after they click links in its apps, according to new research from an ex-Google engineer. The two apps have been taking advantage of the fact that users who click on links are taken to webpages in an “in-app browser”, controlled by Facebook or Instagram, rather than sent to the user’s web browser of choice, such as Safari or Firefox. “The Instagram app injects their tracking code into every website shown, including when clicking on ads, enabling them [to] monitor all user interactions, like every button and link tapped, text selections, screenshots, as well as any form inputs, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers,” says Felix Krause, a privacy researcher who founded an app development tool acquired by Google in 2017. In a statement, Meta said that injecting a tracking code obeyed users’ preferences on whether or not they allowed apps to follow them, and that it was only used to aggregate data before being applied for targeted advertising or measurement purposes for those users who opted out of such tracking…” It would be a good idea to read the whole article.Sunday, August 14, 2022
Friday, August 12, 2022
Lunch on August 12
I went to the farmer's market this morning and bought beets with leaves, Swiss chard in 2 colors, tomatoes, peaches and some bakery treats. I already had spinach, onions, etc. on hand. So here's a photo of lunch, which we ate on the deck because the weather was wonderful--chicken tetrazzini, fresh cooked beets, steamed spinach, and a raspberry scone. All very yummy. But in the middle of the afternoon, I remembered I hadn't taken my Xarelto (blood thinner), which I remembered I put on the plate so I wouldn't forget it. Apparently, I ate it with the chicken. To be sure, I enlarged the photo, and see it sitting there trying to look like part of the rust colored flower on the plate. So, I'm trusting I ate it.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Monkey Pox
"We don’t know whether it [monkey pox] can be spread from someone without symptoms and that is also being researched. At the time of this writing, the infection is being seen mostly in gay and bisexual men. Therefore, this group should be extra vigilant in monitoring for symptoms and take precautions to limit their exposure.
Avoid skin-to-skin contact with anyone with a rash that looks like Monkeypox and avoid sharing objects or clothing that someone with a rash has used. Frequent hand washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer is also recommended."
Do you suppose if someone shows up at work or school classes, they will be asked to leave because work spaces are tight or work items--door knobs, pencils, books, copiers, toilets--have to be shared, or would that be homophobic? The pictures I've seen look a lot worse than a "rash." If they show up at ER, how will others be protected?
Gender and sexuality alliance clubs in our schools
GSA isn't subtle about it's goals. It's not just to sexualize your children--comes complete with the usual anti-capitalist pro-Marxist drivel. I wonder who is funding these clubs?
"In a manifesto, the organization calls for the “abolition of the police,” the “abolition of borders and ICE,” the payment of “reparations” to minorities, the “decolonization” of native lands, the end of “global white supremacy,” and the overthrow of the “cisgender heterosexual patriarchy.” The organization is also explicitly anti-capitalist: its literature is littered with references to “anti-capitalism” and, during one board meeting, its leaders fantasized about what life would be like “after capitalism falls.”
GSA Clubs Smuggle Gender Ideology into K-12 Education (city-journal.org)
All conservatives (and liberals too who are figuring out this scam) need to understand the basics--these expanding victim groups which supposedly are about equality, diversity, fairness, tolerance, etc. are at their roots, Marxist. It won't end. Don't look for common sense, American values, decency, fairness, tolerance and certainly your kids won't get a good education. The point of all this is manipulation--to destroy, divide and conquer. Gay or straight, black, white or brown, immigrant or native, all children will be hurt, but they (and you) are being used to destroy the family and society through the schools.
It worked in the 20th century--they murdered 100 million of their own people in various countries using class warfare--citizen against citizen. In our era, instead of division in classes and workers, they are using sex, gender and race. Same book, different cover.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Tuesday, August 09, 2022
The misnamed Inflation Reduction Act
"Using the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model, we estimate that the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce long-run economic output by about 0.1 percent and eliminate about 30,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the United States. It would also reduce average after-tax incomes for taxpayers across every income quintile over the long run.
By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy." https://taxfoundation.org/inflation-reduction-act/
Sunday, August 07, 2022
Walking while old
Can you hear me breathing hard? We were in church (outside in the park) from 8:30-9:30 and then eating with friend at the Patio restaurant until about 10:15. Then a walk home, change into cooler clothing, and out again for a short walk on Oak and Lynn before the day heats up. I think it's supposed to be high 80s. I'm using my smartphone to track, count and analyze my walking. Which means I have to keep it with me, either holding it or putting it in my pocket. I rarely have made a phone call, but use it for listening and information. This message is from The Ridge Senior Living. I'm posting it for reference and inspiration for other days. How Many Steps Should a Senior Get in a Day? | The Ridge (theridgeseniorliving.com)
My smartphone says, "Step length is the distance between your front foot and back foot when you're walking. The ability to take longer seps is related to your long term mobility. Strength and coordination changes can affect your ability to take longer steps. Step length will decline with age. Today, August 7 my step length is 28.7-33.5 inches
The smart phone also records "double support time." That's the percentage of time during a walk that both feet are on the ground. If you spend more of the walk with weight on one foot instead of two, there is better balance. The measure will fall between 20 to 40%. Today Sunday August 7 my Double support time is 25-28.4%, that's down from 27.8 - 31.6% on Wednesday, July 27. I hope that means my balance is better, although it doesn't feel like it.
The Relationship between Walking Speed and Step Length in Older Aged Patients - PubMed (nih.gov)
15 Best Walking Apps for 2022 - Free Apps to Track Steps (prevention.com)
Walking Every Day
Walking is widely known to be one of the very best exercises for seniors. It’s low impact, low cost and low risk for injury. Plus, the benefits are many. Walking can:
- Improve circulation, lower blood pressure and strengthen the heart muscle
- Burn calories and help manage body weight
- Ease joint pain and reduce lower back pain by strengthening core muscles
- Strengthen bones and help fight osteoporosis
- Improve balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falling
- Boost your immune system
- Improve your mood, reducing anxiety and depression
- Improve cognitive health
Saturday, August 06, 2022
Environmental sustainability at Lakeside
Every person can see to it if they use plastic, it doesn't end up in the public spaces or water sources. I'm guessing 30 years of working with people to be aware of pollution was lost in the 2 years of the lockdown and forced masking. I've never seen as much trash in the environment as I've seen since March 2020. The cartons used for carry out must be uncountable. For awhile we couldn't even take reusable shopping bags into the stores. But the bigger problem is that those who are the richest among us, who have 2 or 3 homes, or drive electric cars or install solar panels on their houses--they are urging and voting for policies that really hurt those not so affluent in the name of saving something they don't know what.
Pick up after yourself and use less. Just like mom told you. Humans need water to live, but they survived for eons without carrying it in plastic bottles. And don't vote for people or policies that will destroy the pensions of retirees or agriculture in other countries.
The parental example
When we are children we learn life time lessons from our parents, some by their words, others by actions. Today I'm jotting down 13 habits, techniques, behaviors, attitudes, etc. learned from my parents that are still with me, some without thinking about them, some throw aways, in no particular order. Chime in with a few of yours.
1. If you are with someone, always open the door and let your friend(s) walk through first.
2. Make a square, military corner on the bottom sheet (when I was a little girl there were no fitted sheets) to keep it from pulling loose. Stop to admire your effort. Although I don't do this now, the principle of doing something right the first time and taking pleasure in it is a good one.
3. Always wear an apron in the kitchen. Aprons certainly aren't what they used to be, and it seems to me food splashes more, so when I put one on, I often think of my dad who always reminded me, even as an adult.
4. Turn housework into a game (usually against the clock). My mother was big at trying to make "work" into "fun." This usually got an eye roll from me and a whine.
5. Respect others with your appearance. Both my parents would "fix up" for the other after their work day, and we always ate as a family with properly set table, pleasant conversation.
6. Clean up the kitchen after the meal; never leave dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. I often fail with this one--maybe this would be a good New Year's resolution.
7. Start the week right with church attendance.
8. A gentleman always comes to the door to pick up a lady for a date. First timers meet the parents.
9. Sit like a lady (this was back in the days when girls and women usually wore skirts or dresses). Corollary: don't slouch.
10. The proper way to answer the phone. We often had to take orders for my dad, so this greeting I no longer use. However, I still keep paper and pencil by the phone, and I try not to mumble. I also overheard how dad spoke to his customers and even today I expect this from business people.
11. "A soft answer turns away wrath." This is my mother's from Proverbs 15:1. Never quite grasped this one, but it worked for my mother, who lived it and often quoted it. I can't remember her ever raising her voice (but she had a look in her eye that could stop you in your tracks).
12. The person who feeds the puppy is the one who will be loved by it. Usually this was Mom, because despite all our promises to care for it, she's the one who usually took pity on the poor thing. When I was growing up the dogs and cats lived outside. If it got bitterly cold, they could stay on the porch or in the basement.
13. In your lifetime you will probably have three really good friends. I'm still thinking about this one. Life has different stages--friendships vary--but the number seems pretty accurate.
Indian Princess and Campfire Day--memories
But it made me wonder what had become of Indian Princesses and Campfire Girls (an outgrowth of father-son recreation and moral guidance by the YWCA in the 1920s), which my daughter and I (and her dad) participated in during the 1970s. I had a lot of fun strolling down memory lane with that one, like how we got our *first cat (see photo), the nice mothers of Tremont School I met, and the scary overnights at a camp in southern Ohio (forgotten the name).
After an extensive 2 minute search I learned that anything with the word Indian in the title is racist/colonialist/demeaning to native Americans so organization has separated from the Y. There are locally run organizations because daddy-daughter activities are still enjoyed and earning badges for service is still considered useful in building character and strong women. There is a local unit for the younger girls in my own community called Two Rivers Council (2 rivers, the Scioto and the Olentangy meet in Columbus).
"Two Rivers Council is a group of dads and daughters that strengthens that strong family bond through structured but casual activities - time apart from work and school to focus on family. During our time together, dads and daughters learn outdoor traditions, discuss current events, help out in our community, and enjoy our time in the great outdoors.
Our group includes Upper Arlington girls between kindergarten and third grade. Most of the girls attend Barrington with a few from Tremont, St Agatha, Wellington, and Columbus School for Girls. "Senior Princesses" in grades 4 and 5 are most welcome too! We take our Longhouse name from the two rivers that flow through Columbus: the Olentangy and the Scioto. The sun rises on the Olentangy and sets over the Scioto.
The Y-Indian Princess Program (now called Adventure Princesses) was an outgrowth of the Indian Guides, a father-son program started in 1926. That program enabled fathers and sons to participate in a variety of activities that nurtured mutual understanding, love, and respect. The first Indian Princesses came together at the Fresno, California YMCA in 1954. Today, as then, our program affords an unusual opportunity for the concerned and busy father to foster growth in his daughter's development and an understanding of the world around her. The father's role helps her in developing self-esteem, confidence with her peers, and appreciation for the differences among people and families." https://tworivers.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=9&club_id=837212
Thursday, August 04, 2022
Wednesday night Picnic
On Wednesday evening we head for Perry Park, weather permitting, to eat a hot dog, macaroni salad, baked beans, watermelon and chips. This is a happy time, with a lot of laughter. We bring a long our chairs because there aren't enough picnic tables to hold the crowd. In the second photo are Bob and me and Pat and Bob with whom we were sitting, and then some photos of the volunteers who help with the food. It was extremely hot last night, but the breeze from the lake was wonderful.
Monday, August 01, 2022
The big lie--the U.S. was founded on slavery
"The 1619 Project is not history; it is ignorance. It claims that the American Revolution was staged to protect slavery, though it never once occurs to the Project to ask, in that case, why the British West Indies (which had a far larger and infinitely more malignant slave system than the 13 American colonies) never joined us in that revolution. It claims that the Constitution’s three-fifths clause was designed by the Founders as the keystone that would keep the slave states in power, though the 1619 Project seems not to have noticed that at the time of the Constitutional Convention, all of the states were slave states (save only Massachusetts), so that the three-fifths clause could not have been intended to confer such a mysterious power on slavery unless the Founders had come to the Convention equipped with crystal balls. It behaves as though the Civil War never happened, that the slaves somehow freed themselves, and that a white president never put weapons into the hands of black men and bid them kill rebels who had taken up arms in defense of bondage. The 1619 Project forgets, in other words, that there was an 1863 Project, and that its name was emancipation.
Finally: the 1619 Project is not history; it is evangelism."
So for Christians especially it is chasing false gods to worship. Sigh. Our country has many flaws--it is after all full of sinners like you and me in need of a Savior and was founded by sinners who wanted worldly rewards. How could it be perfect? But this 1619 drivel is beyond any conspiracy theory the right wing ever imagined. The ignorance, the self-satisfaction, the smugness--it's like trying to escape through a California wild fire with someone using up the oxygen that's left.
https://www.city-journal.org/1619-project-conspiracy-theory
The 1619 Project: Sloppy scholarship and distorted history under consideration for Washington schools » Publications » Washington Policy Center
Down the 1619 Project’s Memory Hole (quillette.com)
The 1619 Project: Believe Your Lying Eyes by Seth Forman | NAS
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Yon and Peterson discuss Pandemic, Famine and War
https://youtu.be/R7gAEkzIgvw YouTube discussion July 28, 2022
https://aboutthenetherlands.com/why-does-the-netherlands-export-so-much-food/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/emotion-and-pain-as-dutch-farmers-fight-back-against-huge-cuts-to-livestock
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/20/what-is-behind-largest-protests-in-panama-in-years-explainer?
https://www.dw.com/en/german-farmers-eye-poor-harvest-urge-freeing-up-fallow-land/a-62650482?
Here's a moving comment on the discussion by a Dutch citizen:
"As a Dutch man I must admit that all the praise and applause for our country brought tears to my eyes. So much I actually paused the video (especially the part at 1:02:19 ). We live in a time where every sense of pride or patriotism is considered a bad thing, so much, in fact, that when other people acknowledge the accomplishments of your nation it (apparently) brings up incredible strong emotions. The cliché mentality of a Dutch person is: stop whining and do your job. Our mothers creed is: "bad weather does not exist only bad clothing". We usually shrug our shoulders and carry on with our lives. This no- nonsense mentality is the strongest within the farmers community. They withstand the horrible Dutch weather with lots of rain and howling winds that blow over the flat lands to feed everybody. Literally. Not just their community, or their country.... no a large part of the world. They are the sort of people that, until a couple of years ago, were characterized as more or less "emotionless". Now their land, their family business, that was so carefully built over generations is taken away from them. It is a bloody shame. They truly are the canary in the coalmine. I stand with them for 100%."
Flowers at the cottage
Although we've sold our cottage at Lakeside, this year the flowers have been doing beautifully. So Bob took a photo, and because of the reflections in the porch window, we also have a photo of our neighbors.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Making churches relevant
This is one more article about why mainline and evangelical churches are shrinking (i.e. dying, becoming irrelevant). Unfortunately, the author after attempting to describe the problem--cultural suicide--suggests finding a new vision. Huh? Have they tried Jesus? This is an irrelevant article about why churches have become irrelevant.
The author is still quoting William Sloane Coffin.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/gloriouslife/2021/01/how-mainline-churches-closed-themselves/
Friday, July 29, 2022
Low fat or full fat? Silver Sneakers' advice
https://www.silversneakers.com/blog/should-you-ditch-low-fat-foods-for-good/?
I try to eat the real thing when available. Real milk. Real butter. But I didn't for years. My mom was all about margarine and 2% milk. Salad greens need full fat dressing, if you want dressing. (Not everyone does.) All that low-fat stuff and no calorie drinks just make one eat/drink more because they aren't satisfying. Not impressed with that plant-based, highly processed substitute for meat, either. If you have an ethical problem with eating animals, that's one thing, but if you think plant burgers will save the planet, you're kidding your self.
Andrew Forrest, preacher of the week at Lakeside
About — Andrew Forrest
"Lakeside Chautauqua welcomes Rev. Andrew Forrest as Preacher of the Week July 24-28. He will lead the 10:30 a.m. Chautauqua Community Worship Service on Sunday, July 24 in Hoover Auditorium. This week’s service will be live streamed. Visit lakesideohio.com/streaming to watch on the day of the service. This week’s preacher is supported by Dr. James & Betty Jane Young.
Forrest’s Sunday sermon is “Genesis: The Beginning of Wisdom,” and the scripture is Genesis 1:1-2:3. He will also lead Vespers by the Lake at the Steele Memorial Bandstand. Note: Vespers will take place Monday at 7:30 p.m. instead of Tuesday.
Forrest is a husband, father and pastor. Raised in West Africa and Virginia, he has an undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York and a graduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As a third generation Methodist minister, he was the pastor of Munger Place United Methodist Church in Dallas since it was planted in 2010 by nearby Highland Park United Methodist Church. After 12 years at Munger Place, Forrest became the Senior Pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 1, 2022. His first Sunday at Asbury will be Aug. 7.
Forrest wants to engage culture, teach the Bible, and most importantly, make weekly worship the foundation of everything. He believes the purpose of a pastor is to prepare people to live faith-fully in the world. Forrest blogs at andrewforrest.org."
Thursday, July 28, 2022
City Council to support abortion with our money
“I have personally worked with dozens of pregnancy centers across the state of Ohio during my years of pro-life work. The individuals who work at these pregnancy centers are some of the most kind, caring, competent, and loving individuals that you could encounter,” says Ohio Right to Life's Executive Director Peter Range. He continued, “I invite each city council member in the state of Ohio to visit with me their local pregnancy centers so they can see firsthand the amazing work they are doing for mothers, fathers, and babies in need.”
Ohio Right to Life's Director of Communications Elizabeth Whitmarsh strongly condemned the ordinance, stating “the targeting of pregnancy resource centers will put vulnerable women at risk and strip them of the resources they need on a day-to-day basis.” She went on to say, “the obvious truth here is that the anti-life activists do not care about women in need, and in fact, they are willing to put them at risk of survival if it means they can silence pro-life voices.” Peter Range shared similar sentiments: “The fact that these pregnancy centers are under attack is a clear illustration the left is not focused on women’s health, but just expanding abortion.” "
Too late for these memories?
I received a notice (in a newsletter) from my alma mater (University of Illinois).
Calling all Former Library Student Employees
Did you work for the Library when you were a student at Illinois? We want to hear from you! Share a favorite memory, why you loved working for the Library, or how the Library helped shape your career path. You may be featured in an upcoming issue of the Library's award-winning Friendscript newsletter.
Fill out this short survey here.
I've been blogging for almost 20 years, (2003) but I can't recall I ever wrote down any memories of being a student employee in the 50s (as an undergrad) and 60s (graduate student) at the University of Illinois Library.Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Med students walk out at the University of Michigan
Is that how they will treat patients who want to carry to term but the doctor "knows best" and violates not just their oath, but human decency? Will they refuse to treat blacks or trans people if they don't like their politics? What about those disabled from military injuries if they (the doctors) didn't like the war?
I don't think these people are mature enough to have this level of responsibility, but really I don't know where they could go where it is acceptable to be open to views other than your own bubble. If this isn't happening at your local/state university, it's probably because no pro-life people have been hired or promoted.






