Archive of entries posted on 14th January 2021

Thursday Night Open Thread: 2021 Does Not Disappoint, So Far

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Je me viens sous?

Husband on Leash Breached Quebec’s Covid Curfew
BBC | January 12, 2021

A couple in Canada have been fined for breaking Covid curfew rules after the woman was caught “walking” her husband on a leash, according to local media.

The woman reportedly told police that she was just out “walking her dog” near their home in the city of Sherbrooke, in Quebec province.

On Saturday the province imposed a nightly curfew between 20:00 and 05:00.

Walking a dog close to home is one of the only acceptable reasons to be outside between those times.

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Nightmare Fuel

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Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes
The New York Times | 12 Jan 2021 | Nathaniel Popper

Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t access that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?

Stefan Thomas, a German-born programmer living in San Francisco, has two guesses left to figure out a password that is worth, as of this week, about $220 million.

The password will let him unlock a small hard drive, known as an IronKey, which contains the private keys to a digital wallet that holds 7,002 Bitcoin.

While the price of Bitcoin dropped sharply on Monday, it is still up more than 50 percent from just a month ago when it passed its previous all-time high around $20,000.

The problem is that Mr. Thomas years ago lost the paper where he wrote down the password for his IronKey, which gives users 10 guesses before it seizes up and encrypts its contents forever. He has since tried eight of his most commonly used password formulations — to no avail.

“I would just lay in bed and think about it,” Mr. Thomas said. “Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again.”

He’s currently at Yosemite Sam level of frustration. If he blows his next two guesses, he’ll go full Tasmanian Devil.

Wonder if his original password had a typo in it.

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Liberals Have a Whole Different Kind of Bubble

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Sports Announcer [NBC] Mike Milbury Canceled for Offhand Remark
moonbattery.com | Jan 12, 2021 | Dave Blount

Nearly five months after drawing criticism for making a sexist comment while broadcasting a game, Mike Milbury is out at NBC Sports, the network confirmed.

Prior to his cancellation, Milbury announced hockey games.

Presenting the thought crime that wrecked his career:

After play-by-play man John Forslund said, “If you think about it, [the bubble is] a terrific environment with regard to — if you enjoy playing and enjoy being with your teammates for long periods of time, it’s a perfect place.” Milbury replied: “Not even any women here to disrupt your concentration.’’

That’s all it takes.

The next day, the NHL issued a statement criticizing Milbury’s remark, saying the league “condemns the insensitive and insulting comment that Mike Milbury made during last night’s broadcast and we have communicated our feelings to NBC. The comment did not reflect the NHL’s values and commitment to making our game more inclusive and welcoming to all.”

As we learned while watching ballplayers kneel to Black Lives Matter rioters as they looted stores, set fire to police stations, and tore down statues of the Founding Fathers, no bastion of the liberal establishment is more militant than professional sports.

Milbury promptly issued an apology, but this was futile, as usual.

Similarly, liberals have decided they are the only ones allowed to do color commentary.

Joke of the Day

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Submitted by Larry A:

Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn’t seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp-minded and a real credit to the company and obviously demonstrating their “Older Person Friendly” policies.

One day the boss called him into the office for a talk. “Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up job when you finally get here, but your being late so often is quite bothersome.”

“Yes sir, I know, and I am working on it.”

“Well good, you are a team player. That’s what I like to hear.”

“Yes sir, I understand your concern and I’ll try harder.”

Seeming puzzled, the manager went on to comment, “It’s odd though you’re coming in late. I know you’re retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say to you there if you showed up in the morning so late and so often?”

The old man looked down at the floor, then smiled. He chuckled quietly, then said with a grin,
“They usually saluted and said,
“Good morning General, can I get your coffee sir?”

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