The moral of this story is never buy a Lenovo computer

Slate reports the outrage like this:

"Since at least September, Lenovo has been shipping OEM Windows laptops preloaded with Superfish “adware,” which would rudely inject its own shopping results into your browser when you searched on Google, Amazon, and other websites. This sort of behavior is associated more with spyware than with factory-shipped operating-system installs, and by itself would be a new low for Lenovo. But Superfish is more than just pesky. It’s the most virulent, evil adware you could find."

How bad?  This bad:

"By installing a single self-signed root certificate (trust me: That’s really bad) across all of Lenovo’s affected machines, Superfish intentionally pokes a gigantic hole into your browser security and allows anyone on your Wi-Fi network to hijack your browser silently and collect your bank credentials, passwords, and anything else you might conceivably type there. As Errata Security’s Robert Graham put it, “I can intercept the encrypted communications of SuperFish’s victims (people with Lenovo laptops) while hanging out near them at a cafe wifi hotspot.” If you have a Lenovo laptop that has Superfish on it (try Filippo Valsorda’s Superfish test to see), I would advise nothing short of wiping the entire machine and installing vanilla Windows—not Lenovo’s Windows. Then change all of your passwords."

Looks like Lenovo users aren't too happy with either the pre installed spyware or the company's response.

Simple solution: never buy this company's product.

Pipe Porn

Good looking and cheap, an excellent combination

A little global warming around the tip of Manhattan.

Via Weasel Zippers

A Royal Air Force Baltimore light bomber drops a series of bombs during an attack on the railway station and junction at the snow-covered town of Sulmona, a strategic point on the east-west route across Italy, in February of 1944.”

In follow up to a post I did the other day...

Walking Shooter aka Shoots While He Is Walking aka Wa-Ku-Ta-A-Ma-Ni or Wah-Koo-Ta-Mon-Ih or Wakute-Mani - Hunkpapa 1872

That ship is big

“The World’s Toughest Yacht Race” the BT Global Challenge, 1996.

Anybody remember their mom using this stuff?

I haven't seen any Dippity Do in at least 30 years, but I remember the texture well, because mom would always go to the ubiquitous bathroom jar of it to tame one of my cowlicks.

Huevos, he has them

I've never had the pleasure to find a human skeleton at work.

Awful night…not having a bit to eat for 60 hours. Tired. Oh! What a night. Thunder lightning and rain. We followed our beeves all night as they wandered about. We hauled cattle out of the mud with oxen half the day. My back is blistered bad. Found a human skeleton on the prairie today.

George Duffield, drover 1884

Cabin Porn

Biden stiffs a fan

This guy let the Vice President use his venue for a press conference, spent a grand to make it come up to par, missed out on a week of business, and then Biden wouldn't even allow him to get a picture with him.

Instead, Biden's people gave him a baseball cap and a poster.  I'll bet he's having second thoughts about being a Biden supporter now that his hero has given him the sharp elbow.

If Biden were ever elected president, it would be a toss up as to whether his first act would be to declare his right of primae noctis, or to eat a bucket of paste.

He and his people really are third class.

Wow, this is why I wouldn't want to live in a skyscraper.

Dubai: A massive fire has broken out in the Torch building at Dubai marina. The blaze Started on 50th floor and is spreading, a resident said. The Marina Torch is a residential skyscraper at the Dubai Marina. The tower is one of the tallest residential building in the world. The tower reaches 336.1 m (1105 ft) in height with 79 floors above ground.

"This building has been plagued since opening with false fire alarms on an almost daily basis. I personally had threaten to call the civil defense on many occasions but was constantly fobbed off by the building management," says Digby Taylor, head of operations at GN Broadcasting.

Around 10 fire engines can been seen, water bowsers, police and ambulances. 

The fire has started up again currently around floor 70 and above. High winds causing massive problems.

Fire has reached 70 floor, says Digby Taylor, head of operations at GN Broadcasting.

Debris falling from great height. Roads in Marina north all closed, debris on tram tracks.

Lights have gone out on the seaboard side of the building.

It's like the titanic going down, says a witness. 

The biggest danger is molten glass falling, says a witness.

That is really scary, let's hope everyone gets out safely.

Full ride

This is the boy, in another time, umpiring a little league game here locally. Now he is in his first year of college in Portland.

He called the house yesterday to tell his mother and I that he had secured a merit scholarship that gives him a full ride for the next four years!

Dad had been paying about 25k/year, less whatever he could contribute from money he'd been earning from jobs like umpiring. 

Full.  Ride.  

I still find it hard to believe. I've never even met anybody who had scored such a thing.

Best part is he got it himself.  We didn't even know he'd applied until about a week ago.

Dad and mom are pretty proud right now.