Dr. X's Free Associations

Some Links

I have eight of these incredibly cheap tactical flashlights. Love 'em. Keep them in the cars, in various locations around the house, at both offices, in my pocket. If you buy one, be careful with the strobe function. It's potentially useful for self-defense, but it will knock your eyeballs out. I know phones have flashlight functions, but these flashlights are quicker in many situations.

Last night, we saw the documentary film Tickled, which is playing in theaters now. With HBO behind it, I imagine it will soon be available for home viewing. Tickled is one of the most chilling and infuriating documentaries I've seen in a long time. I'd be surprised to learn that the FBI isn't engaged in an active investigation of the ahem alleged cough monster exposed in this film.

When are people going to realize their studies are dead on arrival?

Ever wonder what a health-care prior-authorization call sounds like? The physician in this video is trying to get a CT scan authorized for a patient with a palpable mass on his skull. Spoiler alert: the call ends with authorization pending.

Imagine you lose a family member in a shooting and white supremacists decide to support you. Um, no thanks.

The Keurig of daily vitamins hits the market, and I predict that more unnecessary supplements will be pissed down the toilet. I'm not saying all vitamins and nutritional supplements are a waste, but a lot are.

Eric Zorn complains about widespread, casual accusations of corruption in politics. He's not fond of the term special interest either. I just wish that people would investigate, even just a little, before they post accusations. Example: I don't like Paul Ryan, but there is a meme floating around quoting Ryan: "Rape is just another method of conception." The problem is that's not what he said.

A woman who was attacked by two dogs in New Haven, has succumbed to her injuries.  The dogs' owner was also attacked. He has been arrested for narcotics possession. And he's a Yale University psychiatrist.

Not a link, but as someone who lived an adult life before the Internet as we know it, I love the Internet. The radio-CD player in our old car was damaged by me stupidly leaving AC running while going through a car wash. The good news: Originally, a replacement would have cost $280 for the radio. That's without installation. I bought a factory replacement online for 19.99 including shipping. I guess they're clearing their inventory as demand for this particular radio dwindles to a trickle. I'll install it myself, which is going to be a pain in the neck, but preferable to paying someone $150 to remedy what was a careless move on my part.

Six Bernie or Busters Explain Themselves

.mic:

Are you worried about Trump becoming president?

I was. Not anymore. Every country gets the leader it deserves — unless the CIA intervenes in your elections, but that's another topic. If this is the leader we deserve for not paying attention for so long, so be it. I will keep doing my part to change things, but I refuse to worry about a Trump presidency.

Does it trouble you when you see a woman being beaten by her husband?

Wife Beater: It used to trouble me, but not anymore. Every woman gets the husband she deserves -- unless it's an arranged marriage against her will.

Bill Cunningham Has Died

Bill Cunningham, the legendary street-shooting fashion photographer for the NY Times, has died at age 87. His images, per se, didn't inspire me, but his nerve did. More than any other street shooter, he convinced me that I could chase, stand face-to-face and shoot in the street. These two shots are Cunningham inspired. I chased them from behind, passed them, and crouched right in front to shoot. I think it worked out pretty well.

Tweet Favorite

'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party.

— Adrian Bott (@Cavalorn) October 16, 2015

It's an old one, but could not be more apt this week.

Password Protected

If you're reading this, you were on the list of family/friends and regular readers of the blog for whom I have email addresses. Unfortunately, I don't have email addresses for many of my daily visitors, but I hope I've covered my most regular readers who've either shared comments on the blog or off-blog via email. If you know anyone who wants to visit and can't, feel free to share the login credentials.

Derecho Possible Tomorrow

WGN:

[T]he second and greater threat will be during the afternoon and evening as low-pressure approaches from the west along the warm frontal boundary.

This could initiate rapid development of severe thunderstorms that could be accompanied by damaging winds and tornadoes. it is possible that a derecho, a long-lasting and rapidly-moving complex of severe thunderstorms could sweep across this area. At this time, awareness of the severe storm potential is key so plans of action can be readied if needed.

I recalled the word derecho, and knew that it's bad thing, but I had to look it up.

Plan of action that will be readied: Fully charge jump starter. It has an AC power outlet to keep the router going. Be sure all other devices are fully charged, pour a glass of wine, and watch more episodes of The Bridge or Bloodline. Potential monkey wrench: down Comcast cable.

Sunday Associations

We saw Weiner and The Lobster. That's two titles, not one. Weiner is a documentary that picks up on the life of Anthony Weiner shortly after his twitter underpants scandal broke. The film follows him through to his second scandal (the dick pic scandal), and his subsequent defeat in the NYC Democratic mayoral primary. I have my own theories about what was really going on with him. A thoughtful person can't watch it without speculating.

Weiner was released in one Chicago theater, and it's also available on-demand from Showtime. I award 9 out of 10 stars.

The Lobster is set in a dystopian world much like the present, except it's got some strange laws. In this world, adults are not permitted to remain single for more than thirty days. That's because life is so much better with two people. Regardless of the circumstance, when a person loses a spouse or partner, they are taken to a hotel where they're required to choose an animal they will be turned into if they fail to establish a new romantic coupling.

Those who fail to find a match, the loners, are initially released into the woods. Guests who still have time to find a spouse are sent into the woods to hunt down the loners using tranquilizer guns. For each loner they dart, they are granted an extra day to look for a spouse. The loners who take a dart are brought back to the hotel and sent to the transformation room where they are turned into the animal they selected when they registered at the hotel.

There was great deal going on this movie. The most prominent themes are the emotionally numbing effects of stifling conformity and the pervasive tyranny of groups. The latter is so pervasive, that it carries over into the loner society, while also reaching down into romantic relationships that appear, in every case, to overvalue superficial similarities.

I award The Lobster 9+ out of 10 stars. Film group is on summer hiatus, so it's unlikely we'll discuss this one. Too bad. I'm urging friends to see it so we can have an informal discussion group of our own.

--------

It's very hot here, so I'll excuse all the people sitting out on the deck at Sixteen, the restaurant in the Trump building.

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine submitted her 'sample' for ancestry DNA testing. She used the same service I used. The results show high confidence that we are 3rd - 4th cousins, though we haven't established the specific ancestor we evidently share in common. We were amused by the results, but not shocked. Looking over DNA pool cousins we share in common, it appears most likely to me that her mother's family had a connection to the village where my maternal ancestors lived for centuries.

The Comcast Hostage Crisis, Day 211... Resolution

Yesterday mid-afternoon, I came home to the internet down again, which is more normal than abnormal. I called Comcast and explained that I was setting up another internet provider and wanted to know the soonest date I could be out of my contract. Comcast snapped into action. They got a Comcast employee here in 90 minutes. Not a contractor like the last 10 times, but a Comcast employee. According to Comcast records, every technician had reported that they fixed the problem. None had. The last said it couldn't be fixed.

The Comcast employee who came yesterday did a quick but extensive rewiring job. The internet connection has been perfect since he left. That's only about 18 hours, but the internet has never worked without interruption for more than an hour, so I'm pretty sure it's fixed.

The technician said he found bad connections and a crimped wire that would have drastically affected the signal. When he left, he said that he's been doing this work for 18 years, and "everything I know from experience says that was the problem." He apologized and said he didn't know how the contractors could have overlooked it. He speculated that they were lazy.

The Orlando Mass Murderer

CBS News is reporting that the killer's father is rabidly anti-American, pro-Taliban and possibly delusional. According to the report, the father, who lives in California, has been sporting military attire and believes himself to be part of an Afghan government in exile.

Are we looking at a case of the apple near the tree?

Given what we've heard so far about the killer, we might suspect a meeting of serious mental illness and extremist ideology, though I wouldn't rule out the ideology part being mostly a rationalization for a murderous rampage triggered by a deeper conflict related to homosexuality. Can't say for sure, of course, but there have been reports today that the killer had been going to that gay bar for three years, and that he was using an online gay-dating app. On the other hand, the FBI has interviewed him twice, possibly because of suspected contact with terror groups or a worrisome interest in Islamic terror. In any case, it isn't necessarily a matter of determining either/or -- ideology or mental illness -- both can coexist in an escalating, synergistic relationship.

Caveat: Early reports in situations like this often turn out to be misleading, distorted or simply false, so it's all speculation right now, but it certainly looks like there was a lot going on with the killer. I wonder what else we'll learn in the coming weeks.

Weird sidebar: The gun dealer who sold the killer guns before the shooting has posted rabidly anti-Muslim statements on social media. When asked about selling guns to the killer, he said that if he didn't sell the guns to the killer, someone else would have. Yes, probably true, but I wonder if he felt any uneasiness or had any inkling that something wasn't quite right about this customer.

Update:

Fellow students at the police academy the killer attended thought he was gay, and one said that the killer asked him out on a date in 2006. There is also a report that his ex-wife revealed on Brazilian television that she thought he "had gay tendencies" and "his father had called him gay in front of her. Dias also claimed 'the FBI asked her not to tell this to the American media.'"

And this.

<p

#BREAKING: Arrest to be made soon of alleged accomplice in #PulseShooting #WFTV @KRayWFTV pic.twitter.com/bNS5UEGYW2

— WFTV Eyewitness News (@WFTV) June 13, 2016

Update 2

I didn't know the shooter had a current wife. CBS News is reporting that she told investigators that she tried to talk her husband out of the attack. She may face criminal charges.

In a press conference airing now, the father sounds contrite and reasonable. Everything he's saying seems appropriate under the circumstances. He's handling the pressure of many questions very well.

Details

In the last two episodes of The Americans, (Season 4) Amazon X-ray reported an anachronism. 1984 scenes included several 1986 and 1987 automobile models. I never would have noticed.

I did notice a very brief long shot of a Commodore 64 or an authentic-looking recreation during a scene in which Matt Beeman showed Henry Jennings how to connect his computer to the family television via an antenna switch.

In the season finale, we were also introduced to Philip's son Mischa, who apparently intends to escape the USSR and look for Philip in the United States. Mischa's maternal grandfather gives him a blanket-wrapped bundle containing passports, old Canadian dollar bills and some old USSR bank notes. They actually went to the trouble of getting authentic 1961-issue rubles for what was a very brief shot.

In a recent post, I mentioned my modest collection of coins, currencies and curiosities. Actually, I buy and sell, and make a little money. It's profitable, but my interest is more of a hobby than a business. Anyway, that's how I know the rubles were authentic 1961 rubles. I've sold a lot of them. Here's a sample from my inventory.