the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Do Nothing

May 6, 2025 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #849 May 10, 2025 Sometimes, but certainly not always, doing nothing is the right thing to do.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2bE-OBtwk   Some weeks ago the smart light on my under-the-sink water filter faucet went out. The lights are meant to advise if the filter is OK, needs replacement soon, or must be replaced right now.  Green, yellow and red. It was the green light that extinguished. I could not remember how long ago I replaced the filter. I’m sure it was more than a year. The filter box claims that the filter is good for one year or 1000...
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Hawaiian Shirts

April 29, 2025 Uncategorized 10 Comments
Episode #848 May 3, 2025 Paula’s side of the closet is pink. My side used to be tie-dyed.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISkMx6b6K_c Recently, I’ve had a fondness for Hawaiian shirts and now my side of the closet is a cacophony of colorful patterns. Some have interesting, artistic patterns. One of the first Hawaiian shirts I bought was the pattern of Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” Paula and I went to arts and crafts day in Idyllwild. People stopped me and said, “Oh! That’s Starry, Starry Night.” I had to reply, “Close, but that is a lyric from Don McLean’s song...
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Zero inbox

April 23, 2025 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #847 April 26, 2025 Some of my readers are overwhelmed with email.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZOqlYm1Vb4 My inbox has been filled with as many as 200 email messages. I have seen inboxes with 2000 or more. It drives me crazy. It makes me sad when readers ask me to remove them from my blog notification list. They say their inbox is so full that they cannot make sense of it. Their solution is to cut themselves off from part of the enjoyment, information, and quality of their lives by requesting to be removed from mailing lists. Please don't go. Do what...
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For Gail

April 14, 2025 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #846 April 19, 2025   Paula’s sister Gail died suddenly last month.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlY90lG_Fuw Along with so many things in her life, Gail was a politically conscientious force. She changed the people around her and through them changed the world. Just before her death we were on the phone lamenting the destruction being done to our democracy. I said that I had done right by voting correctly. "What more can I do at this point?" I asked her.  She asked me if I had participated in any of the protests. I had not since Vietnam.  During the Vietnam...
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Allegory of the Cave

April 8, 2025 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #845 April 12, 2025 Plato's Allegory of the Cave serves as a metaphor for how we each construct our own perception of reality.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNy8llTLvuA In the allegory, prisoners are chained inside a cave, and forced to face a wall. Behind them, a fire casts shadows on the wall, which is the only reality they know. One prisoner is freed and, though temporarily blinded by the sunlight outside, gradually adjusts to the world’s complexity. As his eyes open to a richer, more vibrant reality, he returns to the cave to share his discoveries with the others. However, his fellow...
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BOTs Make Mistakes

April 2, 2025 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #844 April 5, 2025 An Internet BOT (short for robot) is software that automates activities on the Internet.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_8Pma1vHmw The function of bots ranges from beneficial to malicious.  Among the most beneficial are web crawler (spiders). Their job is to browse the Internet and index the content of websites. These indexes are used by search engines like Google to help users find information they seek. One of the most malicious bots is a credential-stuffing bot. This bot uses stolen user names and passwords to attempt logins at thousands of different institutions. Because people often use the same...
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