aramis87

So, like, here I am, on my phone, playing games and browsing the internet. Sometimes my connection is a little slow, but that’s just the nature of things because sometimes it just takes a tiny bit longer to get a response and sometimes my phone just runs a little slow.

What I don’t know is that my phone is infected with malware. And that malware lets other people access whatever internet I have access to; and that whatever those other people are doing looks like it’s coming from my IP address and my device. I am the unwitting exit node for an unscrupulous VPN service (or driving similar).

Someone working in the White House has an infected phone and doesn’t know it. They are at the White House most days, work late afternoon to around midnight.

If the person in charge of the botnet knew the phone of a White House worked was compromised, they could use that access to appear as a legitimate user and bypass security protocols, have accounts and passwords compromised, and have their data scraped and stolen.

I would assume most normal people working in the White House have their phones regularly checked for malware, or use special phones for government work. However, higher ups in the Trump White House have routinely violated and ignored security protocols; they could abuse their power to use their own personal phones and to ignore security checks.

Given that the times the node was used are so consistent, I think it’s unlikely that there are two infected phones involved.

Given that this happened on most days in October, it’s unlikely to be Trump or anyone who regularly travels with him, because he spends a lot of time not at the White House. There was no exit node activity on two Thursdays, one Friday and one Monday; activity was recorded every other day in October. Meaning this isn’t someone who comes into the office M-F with weekends off; days off seem to be somewhat rare for this person, and don’t occur on normal weekends. I have no idea who the person is, but security should probably make more of an effort to re-secure all phones permitted on the premises.

While true, Amazon makes most of their money these days from AWS.

The victory marks a major political shift for the three-member Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the state’s massive oil and gas industry, overseeing everything from pipeline safety to natural gas rates. […] Despite his victory, Republicans will retain a 2-1 majority on the commission, meaning Rosenthal will face limits on his ability to implement his priorities without support from his Republican colleagues.

It’s his safe space.

No, asshole, we want generational change. GTFOH.

Right now, the Democrats are leading for the Senate seat in Mississippi. Admittedly, it’s incredibly tight, but simply the fact that they’re competitive in Mississippi is absolutely mind-boggling.

Convenient how these past-minute changes only affect a heavily Democratic area, and gives plenty of room to allege “irregularities” when poll workers are directed to a place they’re not familiar with that was set up at the last minute. Not to mention the confusion amongst everyone who’s going to show up at the wrong place and have voting take significantly more time than they anticipated.

Iirc, the same fungus that decimated the Big Mike plantations mutated into the one that’s taking out the Cavendish. (Big Mike is still out there, btw, but only in limited areas that didn’t get infected with the blight, and in limited numbers. You know how in all the old movies, people slipped on banana peels? Those were Big Mike; supposedly the peels actually were a hazard, though perhaps not to the extent Bugs Bunny might imply.)

Speculation is icing.

Do NOT listen to the ATC recording.

Seriously, do NOT listen to the ATC recording. You will regret it.

Do NOT listen to the ATC recording.

Do NOT listen to the ATC recording.

Seriously, do NOT listen to the ATC recording. You will regret it.

Do NOT listen to the ATC recording.

Behind closed doors, very little of this went over well with the state’s other Republican Party bigwigs, many of whom were furious at Ramaswamy for doing something that could imperil the elections of others on the Ohio GOP ticket

Yeah, they didn’t care about the ad, just that it could drag them down with him.

Funny how there weren’t any systemic supply issues until someone decided to buy up all the RAM …

I mean, what else can they do but keep on? They’ve lost a lot of the American public, but if they lose the American Congress, that’ll really start to hurt.

There were reports a year or so ago, of Musk acting as a message carrier between Trump and Putin.

Same reason a bunch of Trump officials will start leaving next year (for personal reasons, to spend more time with their family, to pursue a wonderful opportunity, etc): if they leave now, it’s easier for them to line up jobs elsewhere in the right-wing universe. If they wait until after Election Day, there’ll be a bunch more people competing for the same positions. This way, they can get in early.

Costa Rica doesn’t have an army. But it does have a moderately militarized police force.

Braeburn was my grocery store go-to for a while there. But then they caught on and started importing them from overseas. I don’t have an issue with importing, especially for things that I’ve never really had fresh-off-the-tree (bananas, pineapple), but for something that was picked under-ripe and shipped halfway across the world while sitting in storage for six months - nah. If your store has access to in-season Braeburn, go for it!

Lol. So, like, I used to live some miles away from a farm that grew a bunch of different heirloom apples. Which piqued my interest and sent me searching for other (semi-easily accessible) apple varieties when I traveled. I kept notes as I went; I’ve probably eaten and rated over 250 varieties by now. Anyway, I have some basic knowledge on this.

Regarding the ratings site (which I haven’t looked at; I’m tired and am just desperately trying to get my brain to settle so I can sleep) vs your ratings: sourcing matters. If you’re buying apples from the grocery store, even at this time of year, there’s a chance you’re buying last year’s apples. That’s going to affect the skin, the texture, and the flavor of the apple. See if you can find fresh-picked (and preferably locally-grown) apples for your comparisons. It’s possible that you and that website are comparing old vs new apples.

Secondly, temperature matters. No, seriously. If you’re getting apples for testing, get two. Put one in the fridge and the other on the counter, then eat them the next day. Alternate bites, clearing your taste buds between. You’re looking at crunch (biting through the skin and the apple), texture (whether the flesh holds up to the bite or becomes mealy), sweetness, tang, astringency; the first flavors that come through, and how the flavor develops as you chew. Probably other factors I’m not thinking of at the moment, but you can make up your own

What you’ll find is that coldness will boost the flavor profile: something that’s very mild at room temperature may have a rich and complex flavor when cold; and something that’s too sharp and almost bitter becomes refreshing and delicious at room temperature.

If you’re a denigrator of Red Delicious, get yourself to an orchard with old-style Red Delicious - trees at least 35 years old, get them at harvest time, and they’re fucking delicious.

Remember that there are three main types of apples: cider apples, eating apples, and cooking apples. While many apples have multiple uses, it’s rare that a cooking apples will come out on top when eaten raw.

Finally, the best apples I’ve found so far are Winchester for eating and Northern Spy for cooking.

Considering that he only left recently, I feel like “probe” is implying a level of examination that likely hasn’t happened yet. I feel like “police inquiries” would be more appropriate here.