Media

Fact check

Posted on by backuphill

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“Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.”

The rise of fact checkers has never been more needed. We need to make sure our politicians are being truthful (because we all know their not, no matter what side their on). “The spin” is always in play and, quite frankly, can be rather disgusting when it gets right down to it.

So, I appreciate that we have people and organizations who do some fact checking. BUT, they are not exactly infallible. While they purport to be “unbiased,” they are not. We still need to watch for bias and we still need to be aware of leanings. Sure, they may not be as obvious in their bias as some media outlets, but it is still there. Example: simply by choosing what and what not to fact check and then report it could display bias.

Factcheck.org is one of my go to places for fact checking. It’s comprehensive and it appears to have little bias. However, there is still a problem. I’ll use the 2020 State of the Union Address from last night as a demonstration of what I was saying in the last paragraph. The linked article above only covers issues that the president got wrong or embellished. There is nothing in the article that points to where he was correct or telling the truth.

To me, that isn’t a balanced fact check. If you’re gonna do the job, do the whole job – line by line and tell us what is correct and what isn’t. Support it good research. Fact check it all. Once the speech is published in its entirety, fact check the whole thing. Don’t pick and choose what and what not to check.

So, if you are looking for more info, you can also check other places. Get a well rounded view of what is going on and what happened. Get info from every perspective, including from places deemed to have little bias. You can, again, use the president’s address from last night as an introduction to the site. The site is Allsides.org.

I know I have talked about these websites before. But I can’t help but make sure you have a place (or places) you can go to get information that is tainted as little as possible with bias. With a flood of information from anywhere and everywhere on the internet, you need to make sure that what you are consuming is as accurate as possible.

We can’t afford to be ignorant. We must be well informed.

Do your due diligence.

Unpopular

Posted on by backuphill

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I probably will catch flak from all over the internet for this, but I feel the need to throw myself under the bus anyway. Who doesn’t need a good, self-imposed, beat down every now and then?

Today’s post: an unpopular opinion.

I didn’t like Disney’s “The Mandalorian” all that much.

I put off watching the show because I am a Star Wars fan. I wouldn’t call myself a super-fan, but it pretty much has been a thing all my life, so there’s that. I have introduced my children (and others) to the saga and they all love it too. So, I do appreciate the story more than others, I am sure of that.

Now that the Star Wars saga “is over,” at least as I know it, I was kind of looking forward to seeing how Disney was going to move forward with it but also not real excited about it either. I realize it is a cash cow, a “force” if you will, so they aren’t going to just let it end (or die) with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

I won’t spend a bunch of time reviewing the show and I won’t spend a bunch of time spoiling it for others who might not have seen it (I watched and finished it last week).

But here is my take:

  1. Baby Yoda is cute. Maybe, just maybe, the only redeeming factor of the show.
  2. The acting isn’t great. It isn’t horrible, but it definitely could be improved.
  3. The special effects, as always, are really good.
  4. The story isn’t all that compelling. It’s actually kind of boring. I didn’t find myself wanting to binge watch and get all eight episodes done in one sitting.
  5. The episodes themselves are kinda short. Not much story telling crammed into those little things.
  6. The artwork (story boards, maybe?) in the credits of the show is almost better than the show.
  7. It felt as though they were trying to force (no pun intended) us to care about the characters, which I didn’t think they achieved.
  8. Carl Weathers brought the cheese factor to a new level.
  9. Nick Nolte’s character should have been used more and more developed.

There are probably other things that bothered me about the show, but I can’t think of them right now.

I don’t know. It just didn’t settle with me. Maybe season two will be better?

Projects

Posted on by backuphill

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Ever feel like you just have too many? Projects, that is. Ever feel like you have so many projects going at once that keeping up on all of them takes enormous effort and time?

Yeah, me too.

I am not just talking about the ones at work. While there are lots of projects at work to always do, at least there I feel like I can block time effectively and focus on what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

I am talking about projects in my personal life.

Owning a home is a never ending project – improvements, maintenance, yard, cleaning and organizing. It just seems overwhelming at times because you can literally stand in one room and identify 17 things that need to get done or want to get done. There is never enough money and never enough time.

Social media projects. This is sort of a self-imposed problem. As you all know, there is absolutely no actual need for social media. It is there to distract and entertain (or infuriate) but there is no real need for it. But, blogs and Facebook and Instagram and Reddit and Snapchat and Twitter and [insert whatever else you have going on], can really take a lot of time. Am I right? Promotion of your businesses, blogs, ideas, etc. takes time and obviously it is something that needs to be done on a regular basis or you lose your following. I guess I am probably preaching to the choir here…

Anyway, I think my job is interfering with my creative side and completing those personal projects I have going on. Plates are spinning, and wobbling, and keeping up is a challenge.

I don’t have a solution. Just a whine. Just a complaint. Just general angst. I know it is all self-imposed, but I want to do a better job at it.

Anyone have any suggestions? How do you balance everything you have going on, outside of your actual job? I know, “first world problems,” right? I am open to suggestions….and if you just need to virtually slap me on the back of the head and tell me I’m an idiot because my self-imposed struggle is stupid, you can do that too.

Who needs security?

Posted on by backuphill

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Every once in a while (well, probably more like every day), I wonder if the people in charge know what the heck they are doing? In this case, it happens to be those who are in charge of military bases and security.

This article, Chinese caught surveilling same US military base twice in 2 weeks, caught my attention earlier this week and after reading it all I could think was, WTF? Who’s in charge of security?

Yes, its concerning the Chinese are trying to spy on our military bases and apparently doing it right under out noses.

Several things in the article stood out. The first was this:

The guard asked the men for their military IDs, which they did not have. She told Wang and Zhang to turn around and leave the grounds. Instead, they drove straight onto the property.

They drove straight onto the property. So, like, anyone can just drive through the gate unobstructed? There little to no barriers to slow them down? No tire spikes or giant posts rising out of the ground like we see in the movies to stop people from proceeding?

So what happens next? Did the guard chase after them?

The guard, who was not permitted to leave her post, radioed other security personnel with a description of the vehicle.

The guard? As in, there is only one guard at this particular post? There aren’t others there, with weapons or vehicles, as back up? What? This can’t really be how things work, can it? So she radioed other security…because there were no other security guards near by? I can’t believe an entrance to a military base is only guarded by one person. Really?

This is rich. So who actually went after these guys after they breached the under-protected gate at a military base?

After 30 minutes, Navy security forces finally located the two men.

Wait, it took 30 minutes to locate them? WHAT?? So for 30 minutes these intruders were driving around a military base, unhindered, because a single guard at a poorly designed post entrance didn’t have any back up? Seriously?

They allowed the security officers to look at their phones and their Nikon camera.

The officers found photographs taken of the property,…Officers also found video Zhang filmed with one of his devices.

Incredible! Absolutely incredible. 30 minutes of information gathering, which I am sure was sent to somewhere to someone who could use the photos for something. I am sure they weren’t just keeping those images on their devices to upload later. That wouldn’t make sense with the technology available today. So, that means they were at least partially successful in their mission. Good grief.

Nice work, whomever is in charge. Way to put safety and security protocols in place that make sense. This whole things has a Three Stooges, or Keystone Cops, feeling to it. This is how we secure a “sensitive storage site for weapons and ammunition”?

Not cool. Not cool at all.

 

 

Opinions – I want none of them

Posted on by backuphill

News opinions

Opinions aren’t news. They should not be represented as news. And they sure as hell don’t belong in a “news feed.” Four of the five articles you are suggesting I read are opinion pieces – editorial, NOT news. This type of journalism doesn’t belong anywhere near the front page of a newspaper, let alone a news feed.

If I wanted someone’s opinion, I would seek it out. I don’t need it fed to me.

Dammit, Google, your “news feed” is really pissing me off, and I don’t mean the Piss & Moan kind of pissed off. That kind of pissed off is just a general, “Yeah, I’m irritated about it but not enough to do anything about it” but this crap right here, this is pushing me over the edge to something more. I’ve talked about problems with Goggle’s news feed before, but this just adds to my displeasure for this news source.

Something more…anyone remember the old Discount Tire commercial?

Yeah, I am starting to get that pissed. I just might walk up to Goggle’s front window and throw their news feed through it.

Anyone have any suggestions about a news feed that has a WIDE variety of sources and a WIDE perspective on the news? You know, like they actually report the news but don’t offer their opinions or commentary on it?

Newspaper paywalls

Posted on by backuphill

WP bad gateway

Bad Gateway…as in, “You don’t have a subscription.”

The Washington Post once was a paper that would be trusted to give you the news without commentary. Not so much these days, well to be fair, for quite a while. Commentary is a staple of its reporting, but I wanted to call attention (again) to it’s motto, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” *Sorry, it’s a little hard to read in the screenshot above.*

The story of how the motto was adopted can be found here, if you can get past the paywall. Many believe the motto was presumably adopted in response to Trump’s assertion that the media was an enemy of the people for their inaccurate and slanted reporting. The story refutes that presumption, though some still question the truth on that too.

To some degree, the motto is correct, though journalism and the media isn’t to only keeper of democracy. No, there are lots of sources from which information can be obtained these days. What there is a lack of, is accurate and fair journalism and media. Therein lies the death of democracy.

Media and journalists who report their bias, their slant, their take on the information “to inform” the public is killing democracy. In essence, the Washington Post is killing democracy in several ways all by itself.

First, there is, of course, the slanted and liberal bias the paper produces every day. This is not a debatable conclusion. It is fact. So let’s not quibble about this detail.

I would posit the next reason the “paper” (I say it that way because it isn’t a newspaper in the true sense any longer) is helping democracy die is that it has chosen to put its online content (or most of it) behind a paywall. I understand a paywall generates revenue, but doesn’t advertising do the same thing? The problem with the paywall is that it makes it so that only those who can afford to pay for a subscription have access the “the news.”

Is that really keeping everyone informed? Is that really making sure there is equal access to information? Is it equitable for all?

Access to information and access to sound, unbiased reporting is important. Hiding behind paywalls and having more journalism that is predominantly commentary, rather  than facts (or a liberal spin on the facts), isn’t keeping democracy alive. It is actually killing it too.

Democracy certainly dies in darkness, but the darkness here is slanted journalism and a paywall.

Love is just a word

Posted on by backuphill

love text sign

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I am not sure if I have become jaded/cynical/pessimistic or just old. It’s likely that it is a combination of all of these things.

Anyone else feel like the word “love” is just another word these days? Like, people don’t actually know what it means and abuse the use of it all the time. Sure, they may technically be using the word correctly based on the definition, according to Webster, but just because the dictionary has put a definition to it doesn’t necessarily mean that people actually love. Splitting hairs here? Maybe. But I get really tired of hearing when it most likely isn’t really meant.

You hear it all the time but you probably don’t really pay attention to how it is used…because it is used all the time.

“I love this pie.” Do you really?

“I love the characters of this show/book/movie, etc.” No, no you don’t. Not really.

“I love that you work so hard at making a difference in the neighborhood.” Doubt it.

You get my point (or maybe you don’t). The abuse of the word is rampant. It’s irritating. Well, at least to me. It’s irritating to me.

Does anyone else find this even mildly irritating or am I alone in this?

I don’t love the use of the word love in common vernacular. It’s value is diminished when it is abused.

Viewing issues

Posted on by backuphill

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“Want to watch a show?”

“Sure.”

“Let me see what I can find.”

Anyone who travels outside of the US have any issues viewing television or movies on your preferred viewing platform?

When I was in Canada a few weeks ago I was going to try to catch up on a TV show that I watch when I went to Hulu and couldn’t get it to play my shows. I could get to the screen to launch the show, but as soon as you get to the page that typically has the episodes listed it didn’t display any episodes. Was this an issue with Hulu? Was it because it was a TV show?

I didn’t have any issues with Netflix or Disney+, just Hulu (and I didn’t try Amazon Prime).

It just seemed very weird to me as I would have thought that I would be able to access the content no matter where I was in the world. Maybe I was wrong.

What say you, oh world of wise tech folks and blogging friends?

Monkeys all

Posted on by backuphill

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I think it is safe to say that Congress continues to demonstrate that we, the American people, have elected a bunch of monkeys to run the country.

I am having a difficult time seeing anything else at this point. Both sides, Republicans and Democrats, continue to live up to the old Mark Twain quote, “There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”

I am just tired of it.

Nonsense, from everyone, though some seem to be more nonsensical than others.

Monkeys actually might be more civilized. I am sure there could be a serious debate on that point, but in my mind I think it’s probably true. There has to be a better option than the yahoo’s we have “running the country.”

Anyone else tired of this poo slinging behavior and really want them to get about the business of something other than party agendas and political sabotage?