Recent Posts

1701

Post New Requests Here / Re: System tray notification of remote computer status

« Last post by IainB on April 27, 2016, 05:50 PM »

I had a very good friend and business partner whom I trusted implicitly and who was entrusted with sole responsibility for managing the bank (capital loan) accounts and reconciling them - a job I detested and was happy to assign to her, and I ignored SAPs (Standard Accounting Procedures).
I was thus more than a little surprised to discover some years later that said partner had apparently, over the first 20 months of the partnership, quietly misappropriated approx. $60,000 of capital. This had been done by the simple expedient of having all statements and correspondence from the bank sent to her personal address, and filing them in a "secure" filing cabinet offsite. She would occasionally ask me questions about what to do with certain transactions and would even insist that I make certain online transactions, presumably so that it would look as though I was in full knowledge/approval of what was going on. When I asked out of interest to see an account statement, it was always "locked up in the offsite safe for security" or something. So I never saw them.

The lesson I had to learn is one that banks are only too familiar with: That some otherwise seemingly quite good and honest people - whom you could have (say) even entrusted with your life - seem to be susceptible to temptation by easy access to pools of money, and it changes them and they become dishonest.
Since you can never know in advance who will be susceptible, the best approach is not to present them with temptation in the first place - hence the SAPs.

If it's your business, then you - like me - would be an idiot not to implement proper SAPs, knowing this.

It thus made me smile when you wrote:

...Ours however is a small family business, and we know each other extremely well; I should have mentioned that the girl that prints the checks is in fact my sister. ...

- as though what you wrote actually substantiated anything/something of what you were saying, but it doesn't, you see and it's irrational to think that it does. It is a logical fallacy, a non sequitur ("it does not follow"; or irrelevant conclusion).

1702

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by IainB on April 27, 2016, 05:05 PM »

Whoops! Spoke too soon. Blackbird is a bit like a blunderbus! I think I shall avoid it.
This is what it does (per readme.txt):

Spoiler

Blackbird V6 (version 0.9) Readme
http://getblackbird.net
[email protected]


==WHAT BLACKBIRD DOES==

> Disables OneDrive
> Disables Cortana
> Disables Bing-integration
> Disables Wi-Fi Sense
> Disables Windows/Office Telemetry on all Windows versions
> Disables Xbox Live services
> Disables web content evaluation / URL check-in ("SmartScreen")
> Disables Windows Media Online DRM
> Disables Windows P2P Update sharing
> Disables all application metric-data collection agents
> Disables all AutoLoggers
> Disables Start menu ads
> Disables Windows Error Reporting
> Disables Diagnostic Tracking / "Connected User Experiences and Telemetry" service
> Disables WAP-push Message Routing service
> Prevents all location/contacts/handwritting/password sharing
> Prevents cross-device synchronization
> Prevents device meta-data collection
> Patches various data-leaks (IE/EDGE/Defender/Explorer/MRT)
> Removes Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA)
> Removes your unique Ad-ID tracking token and disables further Windows advertising profiling
> Removes GWX and all Windows 10 Upgrade triggers, icons, messages and other nagging
> Removes Windows 10 Upgrade setup files on Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
> Removes a bunch of Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 telemetry updates
> Blocks 130+ different tracking/telemetry/ad servers (supports IPv6/IPv4, Wifi/Eth)
> bonus (some) Youtube, Skype, Facebook ads blocked


==USING BLACKBIRD==

> Double-click blackbird.exe,
> Click Yes if prompted by UAC,
> Blackbird will perform a quick security scan (green means good - red means bad),
> Press any key to apply,
> Get some coffee (optional),
> Reboot the computer when it's finished. All done.


==SWITCHES==
You can also invoke Blackbird from CMD with the following command-line switches available:

blackbird -v   >  Verbose mode. Displays additional information on all changes as they're being made.
blackbird -s   >  Silent mode. No additional user interaction required, good for scripts
blackbird -r   >  Recovery mode. Restores all values changed by Blackbird to default Microsoft values.
blackbird -k   >  Kill Cortana completely (prevent searchUI.exe from loading) / can be unkilled using Blackbird Recovery mode.
blackbird -e   >  eMule LowID fix (experimental).
blackbird -f   >  Show frequently used programs in Start menu.
blackbird -x   >  Enable Xbox Live services.
blackbird -d   >  Disable Windows Defender.
blackbird -h   >  Disable Hibernation (deletes hiberfil.sys file from root).
blackbird -u   >  Disable automatic installation of updates / Sets to manual download and install only.
blackbird -m   >  Disable automatic installation of Malicious Removal Tool updates.
blackbird -?   >  Displays help information.

NOTE:
You can only run a single switch at one time.


==FAQ==

Q: Blackbird is stuck/hangs/crashes.
A: It takes a while (up to 1h on older CPUs) but if you're sure it's stuck, close blackbird, open cmd as admin, cd to the directory where you put the blackbird.exe file.
    Type "blackbird -v" (without the quotes). This should give you a more detailed view of what's going on.

Q: Blackbird shows errors like "access denied", "unable to read file", "system error"...
A: This is normal, especially under W10. Try closing and running Blackbird again, this somehow forces Windows to behave. Not sure why.

Q: My antivirus reports Blackbird as malware.
A: This mostly happens with the 32bit version but we assure you, it's a false-positive. Use the 64bit version if possible, AVs seem to like it better for some reason.
   We suspect this occurs because of the nature and relative obscurity of our software (registry editing,telemetry dismantling,..)
   Some files are extracted during usage but they are all deleted before you even exit the program.

Q: I don't like what Blackbird did to my computer. How do I change it back?
A: Start cmd as administrator, cd to the directory where you put the blackbird.exe file, type "blackbird -r" (without quotes) and press enter.
   This will run Blackbird in Recovery mode and will restore all changes made by Blackbird back to their default Microsoft values.
 

I killed the app. as it does all those things by default, and I don't want them all - e.g., I don't want OneDrive disabled.

Fortunately, you can use the command line to cause Blackbird to restore to windows default all those things it changes by default. I may have to run that now as I have no way of knowing whether I killed it in time before it had managed to make any changes. It doesn't seem to run a report or anything to tell you what it actually succeeded in doing.

Of course, restore to windows default is not necessarily the same thing as restore to what it had been before.

I'd recommend extreme caution as running this tool could arguably be a bit like sticking a screwdriver in amongst a bunch of live wires and trusting in the outcome. A black box approach.

...Use screwdrivers with insulated handles.

1703

Living Room / Re: bicycling suddenly a British speciality?!

« Last post by IainB on April 27, 2016, 04:30 PM »

@tomos: Could you send me a link to a spec for your new bike please? I'd be interested to read about it. I had been wondering what model you plumped for.

1704

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by IainB on April 27, 2016, 04:16 PM »

Thanks for posting about this - it sparked my interest.
As a result, I'm about to trial Blackbird  - from the documentation it seems it can do almost exactly what I was looking for, and more besides.
Will give some feedback on outcomes.

By the way, for the paranoid, Malwarebytes' realtime Malware and Malicious Website protection does not object to downloading the Blackbird proggie file from either MajorGeeks or getblackbird.net. The files have different checksums, because presumably, the latter's file version is slightly newer (MG=v0.9.88, B=v0.9.89).

1705

Post New Requests Here / Re: System tray notification of remote computer status

« Last post by IainB on April 27, 2016, 03:25 PM »

Speaking as someone who has had to manage and audit accounting office practices (e.g., when I was acting in the role of Chief Accountant or Auditor) some years back, this opening post literally made my hair curl.

From memory, SAP (Standard Accounting Practice) for secure handling of cheques used to include rules about security and processing of MICR pre-printed computer-stationery blank cheques. Printing of these cheques was to be done in a secure area and in tightly-controlled batches (even the one-off ones), and were to use a printer that was dedicated to the task of cheque printing and inaccessible to anyone not involved in the production process, whilst cheque printing was in progress.
This would be an audit requirement also.
So the notion of using a network shared printer in an open office area probably wouldn't cut it.

The main purpose in this was prudent financial security, but in today's privacy-conscious times, there would be the added legal obligation to ensure confidentiality.
This would be an audit requirement also.
So, again, the notion of using a network shared printer in an open office area probably wouldn't cut it.

The Chief Accountant or someone with formally delegated management responsibility was to supervise cheque-printing and control processes and be accountable  for operation of same - including sign-off on the day's batch controls. These controls recorded the cheque numbers used - and spoiled - and the payee and amounts actually printed, and had the actual spoiled cheques attached for verification.
This would be an audit requirement also.

Sometimes, rules and procedures might further stipulate that this batch control must take place before the cheques left the print area for envelope stuffing and being mailed out.
This would then become an audit requirement also.

The OP seems to describe a cheque-printing process where it could be well-nigh impossible for the Chief Accountant, or someone with formally delegated management responsibility, to supervise cheque-printing and control processes, and be accountable for operation of same - including sign-off on the day's batch controls. The responsibility would seem to rest by default on "the girl who prints the checks".

Then there's this:

I would like for there to be a way for everyone in their separate office, to be able to see whether she is at her desk or not, as she can't very well print checks otherwise. . Would like to have a little icon in the notification tray that turns green when she's gone, red when she's there.

It would probably be obvious now, therefore, that, given the above and from a financial security and confidentiality perspective, the last thing in the world you would want to enable is for "everyone ... to see whether she is at her desk or not".
Thus, having "a little icon in the notification tray that turns green when she's gone, red when she's there." would not be such a good idea - which is putting it mildly.
Thus, from the perspective of ensuring continuing job security, I wouldn't recommend it, though, on the other hand, from the perspective of better enabling a potential fraud, it could be a useful idea.

It might be useful if these points were raised with management as potential areas of concern, before implementing the little notification icon idea.
Just a thought.

1706

General Software Discussion / MS OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks - GTD with OneNote and Outlook.

« Last post by IainB on April 26, 2016, 07:35 PM »

I was checking some old notes today and saw this. It is a post from 2011, but could be potentially very useful for those considering using OneNote for GTD together with Outlook: (I could never seem to get Outlook to work properly, so not of much use to me.)
GTD with Outlook 2010 and OneNote 2010 – Series Links

1707

General Software Discussion / MS OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks - Office Lens.

« Last post by IainB on April 26, 2016, 07:16 PM »

I mentioned above the Office Lens on Win10 smartphones.
Here's an example of where I took a photo of a business card, and using Office Lens phone app, sent it to OneNote. (I think this app is also on Android now.)
Look what it can do: (The data it collects and presents is on the LHS, the image of the card is on the RHS.)



This is a relatively simple card layout. The card is smart-scanned, and identifiable telephone/fax phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, etc. are identified. The blue print is hyperlinked text. Note the VCF file created as an attachment. Ruddy amazing.

On more complex business cards with (say) a lot of marketing spiel on, the scan sometimes makes mistakes, and it can also make mistakes in the OCR scanning if image quality is poor, or print colours are not easy to distinguish from the background, but all-in-all it does a creditable job. A timesaver, and you can ditch the paper card once it has been captured and checked.
This image was taken of the card on a tabletop. Once you tell the app whether it is a photo, whiteboard, business card or document, Office Lens automagically selects the card boundaries (the user can adjust if necessary) and processes it accordingly. If the image is not face-on, but captured in a 3D sideways perspective, it is squared up and put into a flat 2D plane with no perspective. Very handy. For example, my daughter uses it for capturing teacher notes from the whiteboard at school (it removes perspective, board glare and emphasises the darkness of writing on the whiteboard), and working notes from homework documents.
You really need to use this tool to get a feel for its potential usefulness. It is very good.

1708

Living Room / Re: bicycling suddenly a British speciality?! - Belgian "mechanical doping".

« Last post by IainB on April 26, 2016, 05:35 PM »

A couple of days ago, I was reading about a Kiwi cyclist who has an electric motor assist on his bike, and he said his Auckland commute could take up to 1½ hrs each way, by car, but only 30mins by this bike - and he arrived fresh and not in need of a shower as he would have usually done if he had cycled on pedal power alone. A good point, I thought, but I wasn't too keen about the idea of increasing the cost and weight if I did it with my precious Trek bike.

Then today I read about this lady Belgian cycling cheat. It was disturbing enough for me to read a couple of years ago of the revelations about Lance Armstrong's enhancement drug-taking - which retrospectively cancelled all his prior TdeF wins (and quite rightly so) - but I had not realised that one could now cheat with "mechanical doping" - fitting concealed electric motors on the bike. Amazing what some people will do to "win".
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

A hidden motor was found in the bike of Belgian rider Femke Van Den Driessche

Image: YORICK JANSENS/AFP/Getty Images
By Lily Hay Newman 21 April 2016

Usually when we think of performance enhancing in professional sports we think of drug cheats. But there are other, more externalised approaches too. Equipment tweaks in things like swimsuit material or ball inflation can potentially do just as much as doping to affect outcomes.

But a new trend in professional cycling involves some hilariously blatant scamming: riders are installing electric motors on their bikes.

On Sunday, journalists at Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and French TV network Stade 2 published evidence alleging seven cyclists were using hidden bike enhancements at two races in Italy last month. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has been using iPads to check bikes for electromagnetic irregularities, but the journalists used thermal cameras to collect additional data.

Speculation about tiny, battery-powered motors in the sport started around 2010. At the time, a spokesperson for the ICU told The New York Times: “Maybe we are facing a general problem. You never know with technology.”

In January, these concerns finally bore out when the UCI began investigating “technological fraud”. It discovered that 19-year-old Belgian competitor Femke Van den Driessche had a hidden electric motor on the bike she used in an off-road cyclo-cross competition. “We believe that it was indeed technological doping,” said UCI president Brian Cookson.

The Corriere della Sera and Stade 2 journalists allege that five riders were using electric motors similar to Van den Driessche’s, and two others had magnetic propulsion systems on their rear wheels. These electromagnetic wheels can add 20 to 60 watts of power on top of someone’s pedalling.
Power boost

Hidden motors can add up to 200 watts, though probably closer to about 100 watts in practice. A February article about the technologies in Gazzetta dello Sport stated: “You can do more miracles with electricity than chemistry.”

Electromagnetic wheel systems are somewhat mysterious and don’t seem to be sold openly, but electric motors are a consumer product marketed for the average rider. Who wouldn’t want an extra boost on the way to work or the grocery store?

So-called “e-bikes” like the Raleigh Detour iE cost about $2000 to $3000 and proudly advertise their motors. But conversion kits like the Vivax-Assist and E-BikeKit can be in a similar price range or higher, especially if you are paying for special low-profile options like Vivax’s “Invisible Performance Package”.

Vivax told Cyclist magazine in October that it hadn’t been contacted by the UCI and that its customers were mainly people over 60 who were trying to keep up with riding buddies.

Though electromagnetic wheels are no better, you can at least see how an athlete could justify them as a sort of equipment upgrade. Concealed motors, though, are just flat-out ridiculous. You’re basically doing a biking competition on a motorcycle.

The UCI clearly needs to continue improving its bike-scanning tech. Meanwhile, athletes should stop cheating. Or at the very least have some dignity about keeping the techniques subtle.

This article was first published on Slate
More on these topics:
    performance-enhancing drugs
    sport

1709

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Microsoft Money Plus Sunset - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on April 16, 2016, 05:58 AM »

Useful post in thewindowsclub.com: Free Personal Finance & Business Accounting Software for Windows

EDIT: 2016-06-03 correction to mistake in the last paragraph in the quote below.
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Today, in this post, we will take a look at some of the free finance software for personal & home use, as well as accounting software for small, medium business – along with one for enterprises. All of these are free to use on your Windows computers.
Free Finance & Accounting Software

Free Personal Finance & Business Accounting Software

1] Microsoft Money Plus Sunset
Microsoft Money Plus Sunset versions are replacements for expired versions of Microsoft Money Essentials, Deluxe, Premium, and Home and Business.  It is available in two versions and can be installed stand alone, or as an upgrade to any existing installation of Microsoft Money. Money Plus Deluxe Sunset is designed to replace Essentials, Deluxe and Premium and Money Plus Home & Business Sunset is designed to replace Home & Business.

2] GnuCash
GnuCash is free accounting software for Small Business. If you run a business and are looking for a good and free accounting software for small business, then GnuCash is perfect for you. It is a free and open source accounting software, and  comes with a double-entry book-keeping system.

3] HomeBank
HomeBank is a personal accounting software that is simple to use and has a user friendly interface. The software lets you keep a track of budgets, archives, assignments, payees and accounts, very easily. There are multiple categories present in HomeBank such as credit card, asset, cash, bank and liabilities.

4] Manager for Windows
Manager for Windows is free financial software for small business. It is capable of tracking all the income and expenses, and even maintaining a database of clients with sales records. It keeps a record of all your financial dealings, classifies, and summarizes all your business transactions which are of financial nature, efficiently.

5] Money Manager Ex
Money Manager Ex is a third-party free personal finance software for Windows that you may want to check out. It helps you manage your finances easily. You can manage your personal as well as business finances with this application. It is free to use software. This open-source and cross-platform finance software creates an overview of your financial worth.

6] BS1 Enterprise Accounting freeware
The main modules that BS1 Enterprise Accounting freeware are – General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Sales Analysis & Bank Reconciliation. The free version of BS1 Enterprise Accounting software has limited features, but is still good enough for a single user.

7] Microsoft Money
Microsoft Money is a personal finance management software program from Microsoft. It has capabilities for viewing bank account balances, creating budgets, and tracking expenses, among other features. However, Microsoft Money has been discontinued in 2009 and an alternative named Microsoft Money Plus Sunset mentioned above, was released in 2010, but it lacks some features that were provided by former version. It is not free [this is patently wrong - MS Money is $FREE] but since many still like to use it, we have included it. This post will show you how to use Microsoft Money on Windows 10.

Suggestions are most welcome.

1710

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks

« Last post by IainB on April 16, 2016, 04:54 AM »

2016-04-16 2152hrs: Looks like the OneNote percentage zoom 100% bug (above) may have been fixed in an update to MS Office 2016 today. (Crossed fingers...)

1711

General Software Discussion / Re: desktop shortcut to do a Simple task

« Last post by IainB on April 15, 2016, 05:27 AM »

...But I was told i could not install AHK at all.  That was my first suggestion to her as i said in my question.
I have many key re programmers made to do exactly ONLY reprogram the keyboard.  But she doesn't want anything on there so..
All i could think of was find the character code for the CTRL key and the Zero key and try to batch it that wold give her the desktop icon anyway
__________________________

-questorfla (April 13, 2016, 02:26 PM)

I had a LOL at that. It's hamstringing. "Here, I want you to tighten the screws on this piece of equipment, but just for grins you are not allowed to use a screwdriver of any kind."
IT Confucius say: Support person who provide one solution to dumb requirement will find more dumb requirement in email next day...

One suggestion: employ some lateral thinking - e.g., get her a headset for her phone so she can be hands-free.

1712

General Software Discussion / Re: Cookies click driving me crazy

« Last post by IainB on April 15, 2016, 04:57 AM »

...but an even more useful link is http://www.kiboke-studio.hr/i-dont-care-about-cookies/
________________________

-Curt (April 12, 2016, 02:51 PM)

@Curt: Nice find (the subscription to AdBlock part). Thanks!     

1713

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendations for home office scanning/organizing software?

« Last post by IainB on April 14, 2016, 04:12 AM »

@big-red: Thanks for the info - FileCenter from Lucion Technologies looks rather interesting. From the testimonials, it seems that frustrated Nuance PaperPort users find FileCenter to be a godsend. Not many salesy claims can beat the documented user experience about software - I'd like to try it out now!   
I see that it's on special offer till 30th April:
http://www.lucion.com/buy.php

   Edition    Retail    Discount    Price    
Professional    $224.95    11%        $199.95
Standard        $99.95    50%        $49.95
*All Prices Per Computer

1714

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendations for home office scanning/organizing software?

« Last post by IainB on April 14, 2016, 02:47 AM »

I might be able to give some pointers.
I've just rephrased your requirements as I interpreted them:

Requirement:
Home office scanning/organizing software to get several years of home-based business paperwork digitized. 

Mandatory:

• M1 - Scanner-independent: Recognize and work with any TWAIN-aware scanner (I have three, each is best at a different thing)
• M2 - Intuitive: Automagically name and classify the resulting scanned documents (most pdf, some jpeg) using dates/labels/keywords for easy retrieval.
• M3 - Client-based: Purchase, not subscription. Local storage - not the #*@&!! cloud.

Nice-to-have:

• P1 - Stand-alone software: not bundled with yet another scanner I'd have to buy.
• P2- Multiple PCs: Installable on 2-3 computers without extra cost.
  ________________________________
  

Please take a look at an old post I made, where I had very similar requirements - it could have a lot in common with your requirements: EPSON Perfection V330 Photo Scanner + ABBYY and ArcSoft software
That scanner was initially installed under Win7-64 HP. It is currently running fine (after a bit of fiddling about) under Win10-64 PRO.
The software which came bundled with the scanner was quite good for most home use purposes, but was in reality a sort of cut-down version of what you could buy if you wanted something more sophisticated for an office.
Copied from that post, the bundled software was:

• EPSON Scan: for just scanning stuff.
• ArcSoft MediaImpression: for modifying images and making vids out of photos and vid files (not used yet).
• ArcSft Scan-n-Stitch: e.g., for stitching panoramic photos together (not used yet).
• ABBY FineReader 9.0 Sprint: for scanning stuff to documents or files.
• ABBY Screenshot reader: for capturing and OCRing (as required) screen captures
  ________________________________

I also later got a Brother MFC-J65IODW A3 lnkjet printer, (MF="Multi-Function") which came bundled with "Personal" Nuance PaperPort 12. The software is scanner-independent and is rather good. I would like to upgrade to the latest version (v14) and probably the v14 "PRO" version, but am reluctant to shell out the money right now.
Costs and details for Nuance PaperPort are here:
PaperPort - Document Management Software | Nuance

I first learned about about Nuance PaperPort software in the context of when I was investigating the software that came bundled with the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner. Searching on Amazon I found that there are other badge-labelled versions of the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner, most seeming to come with the same/similar software bundle.
My interest in the Fujitsu ScanSnap was initially sparked when I cam across an informative (year 2007) review that mentioned the scanner here: Palimpsest: the guide to a (mostly) paperless life | 43 Folders
That scanner and software would have been updated since, of course, but they were a combination that, in current form, though still not cheap, would seem to be just what you/I might want for a home office.

1715

Living Room / Re: What Killed the Middle Class? - 2012 report on use of offshore tax havens.

« Last post by IainB on April 10, 2016, 06:34 PM »

From 2012, here's an interesting Guardian (UK) report on some investigative research of how TE+T1% (The Establishment and The 1%) had hoarded their wealth offshore for tax evasion/avoidance and greater unearned income: Wealth doesn't trickle down – it just floods offshore, research reveals | Business | The Guardian.
Incidentally, I recall reading somewhere that the Guardian Trust itself puts money offshore for just such reasons.   
(Excerpts copied below and sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

A far-reaching new study suggests a staggering $21tn in assets has been lost to global tax havens. If taxed, that could have been enough to put parts of Africa back on its feet – and even solve the euro crisis.

The world's super-rich have taken advantage of lax tax rules to siphon off at least $21 trillion, and possibly as much as $32tn, from their home countries and hide it abroad – a sum larger than the entire American economy.

James Henry, a former chief economist at consultancy McKinsey and an expert on tax havens, has conducted groundbreaking new research for the Tax Justice Network campaign group – sifting through data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and private sector analysts to construct an alarming picture that shows capital flooding out of countries across the world and disappearing into the cracks in the financial system. ...

..."These estimates reveal a staggering failure," says John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network. "Inequality is much, much worse than official statistics show, but politicians are still relying on trickle-down to transfer wealth to poorer people.

"This new data shows the exact opposite has happened: for three decades extraordinary wealth has been cascading into the offshore accounts of a tiny number of super-rich."

In total, 10 million individuals around the world hold assets offshore, according to Henry's analysis; but almost half of the minimum estimate of $21tn – $9.8tn – is owned by just 92,000 people. And that does not include the non-financial assets – art, yachts, mansions in Kensington – that many of the world's movers and shakers like to use as homes for their immense riches. ...
_________________________

1716

Living Room / Re: What Killed the Middle Class?

« Last post by IainB on April 10, 2016, 05:51 PM »

@eleman gave a link (above) to the YouTube video of the Bernie Sanders interview on the Young Turks.
See: https://www.youtube..../watch?v=ggFitmOTSok  (33mins.)
I watched it all today and found it very interesting.
Though I thought he made one or two and what seemed to me to be false premises or statements in that interview, a lot of what he said otherwise would seem to stand up to close scrutiny. Some pretty robust statements here:

• At 14:58 - Talking about the MSM propaganda control, a good example is shown, and Sanders says: "You have the facts right in front of them and they can avoid those facts, based on ideology."
• At 24:15 - Talking about the huge amounts of corporate and other money money to be made by politicians, and which thus drive politicians and bias: "I think, you know, that money in politics is the major political crisis that we face right now..." and discusses the corruption inherent in the Establishment/system.
• At 30:06 - Talking about what needs to be achieved to reform politics in the US: "We need a political revolution." and discusses the need for engagement of the people (and younger people) to achieve that.

1717

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 09:27 PM »

Zotero is an amazing new bibliographic reference manager. Calling it an "extension" doesn't do it justice. It behaves like a full-fledged application within Firefox. If you're a student, academician, researcher or writer, you really should check this out. If you've been saving for Endnote or RefWorks, you can probably spend that money on something else.

-Jonatan13 (March 23, 2016, 10:57 AM)

Zotero is an amazing new bibliographic reference manager. Calling it an "extension" doesn't do it justice. It behaves like a full-fledged application within Firefox. If you're a student, academician, researcher or writer, you really should check this out. If you've been saving for Endnote or RefWorks, you can probably spend that money on something else.
Note that Zotero requires Firefox 2.0.
Rick

-rkrause (October 07, 2006, 09:19 PM)

-Curt (March 24, 2016, 12:31 PM)

Thanks for spotting my mistuk @Curt. I have corrected the link.

1718

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: CHS Settings hijacked by Windows 10 - External image editor deleted/replaced

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 09:21 PM »

Please note that I have edited my post at Re: CHS Settings hijacked by Windows 10 - External image editor deleted/replaced
So does that make any difference to what you were thinking?

1719

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: CHS Settings hijacked by Windows 10 - External image editor deleted/replaced

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 09:20 PM »

But the path has not been changed. As before, it is still C:\UTIL\Windows utilities\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins\ScreenshotCaptor\ScreenshotCaptor.exe

1720

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: CHS Settings hijacked by Windows 10 - External image editor deleted/replaced

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 08:37 PM »

...When you exit CHS and restart, are your settings saved?
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-mouser (April 07, 2016, 07:24 PM)

Yes, they are saved.
I tested that just before making the post. I put C:\UTIL\Windows utilities\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins\ScreenshotCaptor\ScreenshotCaptor.exe into the now empty External image editor (optional) field, shut down CHS and SC, then restarted CHS to check whether the External image editor (optional) field was still there (it was), and then edited an image clip to check that the link to SC was now working correctly (it was).

I think that what you surmise about how the settings got cleared might not be correct. I say this because, immediately above the External image editor (optional) field is the External Image Viewer (optional) field, where I had entered C:\UTIL\Multimedia\Image Utilities\IrfanView\i_view32.exe, and that was unchanged and continuing to work perfectly.

So something seems to have picked on the External image editor (optional) field as the thing to clear - and somehow the default was assigned to the Windows Paint app. I'd be interested in discovering how that happened.

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Clipboard Help+Spell / CHS Settings hijacked by Windows 10 - External image editor deleted/replaced

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 06:41 PM »

In the CHS settings, I had set ScreenshotCaptor as the External image editor (optional) for image clips, by putting C:\UTIL\Windows utilities\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins\ScreenshotCaptor\ScreenshotCaptor.exe into the field provided.
This had been working perfectly for several weeks/months - until today.

Today I wanted to edit an image clip in CHS, and when I selected the Launch image editor to edit clip, up popped a completely foreign image editor, and it was not immediately apparent what this editor was. On investigation it turned out that it was a new (to me) Win10 app - Windows Paint(!?)   
I literally said to myself "How on earth did that get there?".   

On checking the CHS settings, the field for the External image editor (optional) was now blank, so a Win10 update, or something, had presumably removed/hijacked this setting and forced the invisible default to the Windows Paint app.
So I reset it with C:\UTIL\Windows utilities\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins\ScreenshotCaptor\ScreenshotCaptor.exe and it now works fine, but presumably a Win10 update, or something, will hijack the settings again.

Question: How does one make this setting "sticky" and block a similar hijack from recurring?

To avoid this recurring, is it going to be necessary to (say) restore permanent CHS settings from a settings backup file first, each time CHS is started up?

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Living Room / Re: What Killed the Middle Class?

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 08:34 AM »

“Equality may demand the restraint of the liberty of those who wish to dominate; liberty — without some modicum of which there is no choice and therefore no possibility of remaining human as we understand the word — may have to be curtailed to make way for social welfare, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to leave room for the liberty of others, to allow justice or fairness to be exercised.”
— Isaiah Berlin
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-xtabber (April 04, 2016, 08:54 AM)

I'm rather pleased that you made this quote as it supports a point that I felt needed to be made, but which I had wondered whether I should make as it would effectively mean that the majority would thereby mandate a restriction of the freedoms/rights for a minority (The 1%) of society - which, though it might be acceptable in the US, could perhaps be deemed intolerable in most European democracies today. However, it is exactly what happened in the French Revolution, and it was arguably and in hindsight a necessary step, and we know that "history repeats" where tyrants have prevailed.
Some good reasons there also, perhaps, for the US public to insist on the continuing right to bear arms (Second Amendment) - much the same reasons as the French.

The recent leak of the mass of data about tax havens being used to salt away tax-free millions/billions of dollars by named members of The 1% and/or named government leaders and/or named criminals/corporations alike is arguably merely yet another exposure of the reality of The Establishment and/or The 1% in action. Corrupt as all heck.

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Living Room / Re: What Killed the Middle Class?

« Last post by IainB on April 07, 2016, 08:06 AM »

@xtabber: I think you might have misunderstood or misinterpreted some of the points I had made earlier. If so, then it may be that I caused confusion by not being clear enough.
To better understand a puzzle, one needs to look at it from all angles.
I was not quoting Ayn Rand as a polemical statement, but merely to encourage discussion by putting a valid and interesting point of view - not actually my own POV (I don't really have one and am apolitical, as I have learned from De Bono how to avoid the pitfalls there).

Though I have read some of Ayn Rand's books, I personally have never fully understood the rationale of her particular religio-political ideology, nor of some of her statements, but I do consider that one could make make some kind of sense of them if one explained her likely paradigm as having been formed by and during her experiences of communist Russia and her intellectual rejection of and rebellion against the prevailing religio-political ideology there. I mean, at a guess, that could explain things, though one could never know for sure.

However, I don't see that the statement that I quoted from Ayn Rand - though it might sound great - necessarily stands up, given what we know now. For example, here I would repeat what I wrote above:

If the system is broken now (and that would arguably seem to be the case), then we have been presumably unable to stop this rot since at least the '60s, thus, advocating more of the selfsame capitalist religio-political ideology as a solution doesn't really seem entirely rational to me - I mean, it surely seems to be a non sequitur ("it does not follow") at least.
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-IainB (March 28, 2016, 12:43 AM)

Not trying to labour the point, but, if the system is broken (and it seems to be), and if we desire the objective of an egalitarian society (which I would strongly support, if only for ethical reasons), then we evidently do not currently have a vector moving us towards such an objective (QED) - in fact, the vector would seem to be diverging from that objective (QED). That is always assuming that we are using the correct/appropriate economic statistics - I can't see any fault in them, anyway, but maybe someone else can show them to be wrong.

In the UK and in the USA, The Establishment and The 1% would seem to be inextricably intertwined/interdependent. How did it get that way?

• (a) In the UK: it arguably got that way due to the country's peculiar historical development over some hundreds of years - in fact, I consider the British history and its class system to have formed a monstrous millstone around the nation's neck, inhibiting its socio-economic development towards an egalitarian society.
  As Tony Wedgewood Benn so succinctly put it:
  
  
  
  
• (b) In the USA: it arguably got that way over a much shorter span of time (since the '60s), due to the country's peculiar constitution.
  A good example of what seems to have been happening to the country to cause this is arguably shown by this Venn diagram:
  
  
  

I mentioned the Philippines above. That nation was previously under the dominion of Spain (which its why it was still about 98% Roman Catholic in the early '90s), and the Spanish authority administered to it by appointing the chiefs of the 5 or 6 largest tribes as "barons" and to collect taxes, etc.. These ruling families became extremely powerful as a result. When the USA bought the Philippines off the Spanish, it became the US's 1st and only colony - it was a form of economic colonialism. Presumably because it worked, the Americans continued the Spanish administration via the ruling families, which by the 80s had become huge corporations owned by the families, and they effectively run the country in the background today, with the political structure apparently more or less under their control - this is a bit of a potted summary from reading an economic history (a doctoral thesis) of the country from a few years ago. Apparently, the Philippines is one of the few remaining places in the world where a feudal system is still in operation. The result is that a relatively large proportion of Filipino families continue to exist in a state of grinding poverty today, with no end in sight, and it is apparently much less than 1% that take to themselves and control the bulk of the country's wealth.

I worked in the Philippines for about a year as an independent IT and management consultant managing projects for the two major telcos, and my roles required me to take delegated authority for financial budgets and hiring personnel (mostly degree-qualified programmers and analysts). The thing that appalled me was how little these people were paid in IT, when they could earn 10 times as much in IT if they went to (say) Australia or the USA on a work permit (and that's what a lot of them do now, and send their savings back home to their families).[/list]

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Living Room / Musical people on DC? An hour of singing a day makes you healthier.

« Last post by IainB on April 06, 2016, 05:30 AM »

Though I invariably found it a tremendously satisfying and uplifting experience, I had never previously associated all my choir-singing rehearsals and performance work as possibly being conducive to a healthier lifestyle, so this initially surprised me quite a bit, but then I thought "Well of course it could be!":

An hour of singing a day could help body fight against serious ilnesses | Daily Mail Online

• Singing reduces stress hormones, such as cortisol, and boosts mood
• Reducing anxiety takes strain off immune system so it can fight disease
• People with depression experienced the greatest mood improvement
• The research suggests singing in a choir could help put cancer patients in the best possible position to receive treatment and stop tumours returning

By Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail
Published: 23:46 GMT, 4 April 2016 | Updated: 08:08 GMT, 5 April 2016

Singing in a choir boosts the immune system and even helps the body fight cancer, according to research.

Scientists found that just one hour of singing significantly increased levels of the immune proteins that the body uses to battle serious illnesses including cancer.

Experts have long known that singing improves mood.

But the new research, conducted by scientists at Imperial College London, University College London and the Royal College of Music, found that it also has a profound impact on the immune system.
Singing in a choir boosts the immune system and even helps the body fight cancer, according to research conducted by Imperial College London, University College London and the Royal College of Music

Singing in a choir boosts the immune system and even helps the body fight cancer, according to research conducted by Imperial College London, University College London and the Royal College of Music

The team found that singing for an hour resulted in significant reductions in stress hormones, such as cortisol, and increases in cytokines, immune proteins that boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness.

Doctors suspect that reducing stress and anxiety takes strain off the immune system, allowing it to better use its resources at fighting disease.

The research raises the possibility that singing in a choir could help to put cancer patients in the best possible position to receive treatment and stop tumours from returning afterwards.

The project, which was funded by the Tenovus Cancer Care charity, tested 193 members of five different choirs in Cardiff, Bridgend, Pontypridd, Cwmbran and Swansea.

Of the participants, 55 had cancer.

Choir members gave samples of their saliva before an hour of singing, and then again just after. The samples were analysed to see what changes occurred in levels of hormones and immune proteins.

The study, published in the journal ECancer Medical Science, also found that people who were suffering most from depression experienced greatest mood improvement.

Levels of inflammation in the body, which is known to impede the immune system, were also lowered.

Dr Ian Lewis, director of research and policy at Tenovus Cancer Care and co-author of the research, said: ‘These are really exciting findings.

‘We have been building a body of evidence over the past six years to show that singing in a choir can have a range of social, emotional and psychological benefits, and now we can see it has biological effects too.

‘We’ve long heard anecdotal evidence that singing in a choir makes people feel good, but this is the first time it’s been demonstrated that the immune system can be affected by singing. It’s really exciting and could enhance the way we support people with cancer in the future.’
Scientists found that just one hour of singing significantly increased levels of the immune proteins that the body uses to battle serious illnesses including cancer

Scientists found that just one hour of singing significantly increased levels of the immune proteins that the body uses to battle serious illnesses including cancer

Dr Daisy Fancourt, research associate at the Centre for Performance Science, a partnership between the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London, added: ‘Many people affected by cancer can experience psychological difficulties such as stress, anxiety and depression.

Research has demonstrated that these can suppress immune activity, at a time when patients need as much support as they can get from their immune system.

‘This research is exciting as it suggests that an activity as simple as singing could reduce some of this stress-induced suppression, helping to improve wellbeing and quality of life among patients and put them in the best position to receive treatment.’

This research is exciting as it suggests that an activity as simple as singing could reduce some of this stress-induced suppression

Diane Raybould, 64, a breast cancer patient who took part in the study, has been singing with the Bridgend Sing with Us choir since 2010.

She said: ‘Singing in the choir is about more than just enjoyment, it genuinely makes you feel better.

‘The choir leaders play a huge part of course, but so does the support of the other choir members, the inspirational programme and uplifting songs.

‘The choir is a family, simple as that. Having cancer and losing someone to cancer can be very isolating. With the choir, you can share experiences openly and that is hugely important.’

Co-author Rosie Dow, head of Sing with Us project at Tenovus Cancer Care, added: ‘This research is so exciting, as it echoes everything all our choir members tell us about how singing has helped them.

‘I’ve seen peoples’ lives transformed through singing in our choirs so knowing that singing also makes a biological difference will hopefully help us to reach more people with the message that singing is great for you - mind, body and soul.’

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Living Room / Re: Peer Review and the Scientific Process

« Last post by IainB on April 06, 2016, 04:31 AM »

Eisenhower foresaw this kind of thing...
UK Government Forbids Publicly-Funded Scientists And Academics From Giving Advice It Disagrees With