OldGeezer 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: City Council Seized, Crushed Resident's Legally-Parked BMW While He Was In The Hospital

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2018 @ 04:09pm

    Re: Re: Denver

    Honestly, I never knew anyone that didn't like
    my uncle Jim. I was there looking for a job, so it's possible someone might have thought it was abandoned. Anywhere I went in the evenings it was in his of my cousin's car. For the rest of my time there I alternated the side of the street. No luck with the job hunt, so I sold it & joined the army.

  • On the post: City Council Seized, Crushed Resident's Legally-Parked BMW While He Was In The Hospital

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2018 @ 07:46am

    Denver

    I don't know what the law is now, but in 1971 I visited my uncle in Denver. I parked on the street in front of his house. I drove the car every day while I was there. One morning my uncle said, "you better get out there, they are about to tow your car". Turns out they had a law that cars parked on the street had to be moved every day. My aunt told them I had run an errand for her earlier that same day. I had the store receipt in my pocket. Had the driver actually hooked up to the car he would have had no choice but to tow it. I doubt they would have crushed a 5 year old car, but I'm sure I would have paid towing & steep impound fees.This was a residential area. Except for a racket to get people to pay outrageous fines, I see no purpose for this law. I could understand if a car appeared inoperable & there had been multiple complaints, but shit, 24 hours?

  • On the post: 34 State AGs Demand The FCC Do More To End Annoying Robocalls

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2018 @ 04:16am

    Tom Mabe

    This guy cracks me up. That was a great one. My favorite is the carpet cleaners that he asks if they can get blood out. He says "If someone breaks into your house it's OK to shoot them, right? Does it matter if it's a relative?"

  • On the post: 34 State AGs Demand The FCC Do More To End Annoying Robocalls

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2018 @ 04:01am

    Microsoft discovered malware in my Linux!

    I got this call again just today. After the recording I always press one. I also ask them to tell me what is wrong with my Windows before I cuss them out & tell them I'm using Linux. I still have a Windows 8.1 machine I have not had online in a couple years since Microsoft bricked updates for 7th generation processors. Still have some software I could not find as good for Linux. Other programs I found better & free. Windows is still more reliable for large file transfers.

    The only way to cut down on these annoyances is to get a phone you can block numbers. My Panasonic blocks up to 250. This only works for repeat offenders, but there are plenty of them. I see the phone light up for one silent ring & it says CALLER BLOCKED.

    I have gotten the one spoofing my own ID MANY times. Right, I'm calling myself from my own phone!

  • On the post: Report Finds U.S. Wireless Video Streaming Utterly Mediocre Thanks To Arbitrary Carrier Throttling

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2018 @ 02:33am

    Exagggerate?

    Not really unless you are talking about a very small screen.

  • On the post: Report Finds U.S. Wireless Video Streaming Utterly Mediocre Thanks To Arbitrary Carrier Throttling

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2018 @ 07:18pm

    And they wonder why people pirate

    Download a 1080p video & your cable could go clear down while you continue watching. You really want to watch a shitty 480p & even it might buffer on you? 720 hogs too much bandwidth? What decade are you from? You can't buy a TV any more that is not 4K, but what ISP is going to let you stream that? Cox is probably one of the better providers. I get the speed they promised MOST of the time. If I get the occasional drops it will buffer on any resolution.

  • On the post: Appeals Court Says You Can Copyright A Collection Of Facts… If You Leave Out A Few

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2018 @ 12:51pm

    Your info is out there, NOTHING you can do about it!

    I don't remember the name of the company, but some time back I clicked a link where you could enter your name & find out what information they had in their data base on you. Some of the information was very accurate & some was outrageously wrong. I wish I was 30 years younger.

    It was obvious that companies I do business with are selling info about me. Did you ever read the "privacy" statement from your credit card company they send at least once a year? They always have an opt out of sharing your info with "affiliated" companies where you need to contact them to do this. Not only now, but every time, but every time you get a new statement. An affiliated company is any that are willing to pay.

    This is also used as a loophole for the do not call list. I find it creepy when I get calls who know my name. They usually hang up as soon as I ask "who sold you my information"? To my surprise last week a woman put her supervisor on. He had euphemisms for telemarketer, but really surprising was he admitted they kept 85% of what they collected for the charity. I have seen sites where they list various charities & 15% is generous compared to some. He said they bought my info from an "information broker".

    Pointless now, but after a lot of searching on my ISP web site, there were a list of companies buying your info & you had to opt out for each one of them separably.

    Forget do not call. I have a Panasonic phone that blocks up to 250 numbers. Not a complete solution, but will take care of the persistent ones. I answer calls I am sure are probably junk & say nothing because my machine will pick up if I don't. If there is no ambient sound, it is probably waiting for you to speak to start playing the recording. They will disconnect after a few seconds silence. There is a good site called 800notes to look them up. Calling them back will nearly always be a non working number. They can even spoof legitimate numbers like Medicare. When I asked Medicare about this, they said they ALWAYS contact you by mail & only call after you first called them. She said the call would come from their resolution center & NEVER 1-800-MEDICARE.

    My favorite is when I get calls from some police charity & I ask "are you a cop"? CLICK!

  • On the post: Oddly The Trump FCC Doesn't Much Want To Talk About Why It Made Up A DDOS Attack

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2018 @ 08:51pm

    Re: A funny thought occurred to me...

    Or they could claim they were bombarded by so many copy/pasted bots by the living & dead that people calling in response to Oliver's reporting couldn't get through.

  • On the post: Copyright Once Again Hiding Important Cultural Artifacts

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 18 May, 2018 @ 12:08pm

    Works lost forever

    I had a great aunt who was renowned in the 30's for both her poetry as well as religious writings. The only way you can see her poetry in in a special Kansas collection at the Wichita library. You cannot check them out. I assume the Catholic church has control of her writings that she co-wrote with a priest. If my family has any rights to her poetry after she passed I never heard any mention of it. Frankly I doubt any of us would care if someone wanted to publish it. As brilliant as her work is, there is little chance of anyone seeing it who might want to because of copyright issues. Years ago I could have bought a copy of her most recognized book online from a rare book site despite the price being pretty steep. A search for her now only shows up about the special collection. She is just one among many hundreds of thousands of writers & artists whose great works died with them.

  • On the post: FTC Calls Out Nintendo, Microsoft, And Sony For Their Illegal 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 05 May, 2018 @ 04:42am

    Re: Re: Surprised ANY agency under Trump would do this

    Laws take a vote in congress that must be signed by the president. The first time he was in the oval office he was given a folder with repeals. In there was a repeal of a program to help low income people buying homes.There was a crowd laughing & cheering. "Yea, we just screwed over nearly a million families who won't be able to get loans or lose the house they bought". Since then he has repealed many regulations that were decided on by agencies like the EPA, FCC, FTC etc. with no bill from congress ever passed. Whatever would help his wealthy butt buddies save the expense of compliance. Just one signature & companies can go back to dumping toxins into rivers, landfills & the air. He repealed an Obama order that now allows 75,000 people who have documented mental illness to buy guns. Anything passed by both congressional branches & signed by any president needs the same to change it. We still have Obamacare, but Trump can repeal anything that was decided on a department level to try to cripple it.

  • On the post: FTC Calls Out Nintendo, Microsoft, And Sony For Their Illegal 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 03 May, 2018 @ 05:49pm

    Re: Re: Surprised ANY agency under Trump would do this

    Makes sense. He has waged a trade war that will do us harm than good. He has already put out a list of electronics tariffs that he plans to impose. The problem with this is many of these have not been produced here for a long time. Nearly all American manufacturers, not just electronics, import nearly every component. Is there a single plant producing hard drives in the US? I'm not talking about US companies. I mean actual production lines. A while back a flood knocked out nearly the entire world's supply & prices doubled.

    Just like Trump & Ivanca's products are all made in "shithole countries. Ivanca is paying her Chinese workers $62 a week. If it is like most of China's virtual slave labor camps they are charged to stay in a crowded dorm room & meals.

  • On the post: FTC Calls Out Nintendo, Microsoft, And Sony For Their Illegal 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 03 May, 2018 @ 03:37pm

    Surprised ANY agency under Trump would do this

    Since Trump has filled his swamp appointing only those hell bent on dropping all industry regulations and/or completely abolishing the agencies they head, this is unusual. I know it is a law & not a regulation, but this has not stopped Trump appointees before. I look for action to be taken very soon to either push a bill or limit the FTC's ability to enforce. If what little net neutrality limits left are turned over to the FTC, they will be buried & unable to take any action to enforce this. If they try, Trump will remove & replace anyone he needs to with lobbyists or industry insiders. This move is futile.

  • On the post: Canadian Music Industry Confirms Once More That For Copyright Companies, Enough Is Never Enough

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 13 Apr, 2018 @ 08:42pm

    Re: Re: Why do copyright fanatics care about media after they are dead?

    I'm not going to let old TV series & movies keep me from watching new ones. As far as music, I have a huge collection of 50's, 60's & 70's music. From what little exposure I get to newer music since I retired I am unlikely to buy anything new. When I was still working, occasionally I would hear something on the radio I liked & buy the CD but that time is long over for me. No one is ever going to top the greats like Beatles or Fleetwood Mac for me anyway.

  • On the post: Canadian Music Industry Confirms Once More That For Copyright Companies, Enough Is Never Enough

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 13 Apr, 2018 @ 03:03pm

    Why do copyright fanatics care about media after they are dead?

    If I live 5 years more to the age of 72 some copyrighted material will begin to enter public domain. Buddy Holly died when I was 5 so I would have to make it to 77 for him. Many of the artists I listened to as a teenager are still alive so the clock hasn't even started on the life + 70 years. My son is 33 so it is likely even he won't live to see a lot of them enter public domain. As insane as it is that only our grandchildren for many of us will be able to legally download a Beatles song they are pushing for life + 100 years. Why do they give a shit about copyright that mostly won't expire until long after they are gone?

  • On the post: Macy's, The Department Store Chain, Forces A Tiny Hair Salon In Scotland To Change Its Name

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2018 @ 10:08pm

    Didn't even know Macy's were still around

    I can remember when there was a Macy's store in every city of any size in Kansas. I did a search & it looks like there are only 4 left, all within the Kansas City area. I guess in this hick state, not even a city the size of Wichita has a market for their overpriced crap any more. I guess if you can't sell shit to snobs with the price jacked up over the name on the label, you might have to do some trolling make up the difference.

  • On the post: YouTuber Who Trained His Girlfriend's Dog To Be A Nazi Facing Hate Crime Charges In Scotland

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2018 @ 06:17am

    Re: Re: A joke taken way too seriously

    Have to agree. Bullies are the problem. As someone that had been bullied in school back in school in the 60's, in a way I have an insight into these kids minds. I took my brothers advice when he told me if a kid hits me, hit them back. Even if it means I get my ass kicked, the bully will think twice about picking on me again. Now kids go home & get their dad's guns.

  • On the post: YouTuber Who Trained His Girlfriend's Dog To Be A Nazi Facing Hate Crime Charges In Scotland

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2018 @ 04:34am

    A joke taken way too seriously

    Accidentally hit enter after only typing the title. There should be a way to edit or delete your own comment here like Facebook. Years ago when my son was in high school a teacher was talking to his class about a school shooting. She overheard my son make a tasteless comment to a kid next to him & she freaked out. They detained him after school & would not release him until after they called me & my ex in. There was a full conference room of teachers & administration & counselors. Each one of them took turns talking. His teachers was in tears. We had to assure them that neither me or my ex had any guns in our homes & my son had no interest in them. He had only made a bad joke. They overreacted to this, but in many school shootings people had ignored warning signs of troubled kids & maybe an intervention could have saved lives. I don't know exactly where you draw the line, but arresting someone for training a dog for offensive tricks, are you kidding me? Taking the video down & maybe suspending the account because of terms of service violations could be justified. I have seen people's accounts suspended on Facebook because of extremely vulgar language in all their posts. Probably in response to complaints.

  • On the post: YouTuber Who Trained His Girlfriend's Dog To Be A Nazi Facing Hate Crime Charges In Scotland

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2018 @ 03:59am

    A joke taken way too seriously

  • On the post: 'Catalog Of Missing Devices' Compiles The Useful Tech Products DRM Is Preventing Us From Owning

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2018 @ 07:02am

    A couple of years ago I bought a Xerox laser printer that came with those "sample" cartridges. I got on Amazon & was shocked to see that 2 sets of genuine cartridges were more than I paid for the printer. Then I saw where you could buy a complete 4 cartridge set for less than one Xerox cartridge. I ordered a set. The printer boots up & says "Genuine Xerox cartridges." I ordered 4 more sets. Same thing. No more than I print that is a lifetime supply. I print so little I had to keep throwing out inkjets when they plugged up on me. Don't know if they are refills or someone cracked the DRM. Don't care. They work. I'm guessing, that as cheap as this printer was, it was probably selling at a loss. They think they got you hooked on paying for it many times over. Not this guy!

  • On the post: Copyright Maximalists Throw In The Towel On Term Extension; Admit That Maybe Copyright Is Too Long

    OldGeezer ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2018 @ 04:25pm

    Like I eally care what happens after I'm dead!

    Isn't it amazing that the RIAA MPAA are fighting to protect many works from reaching public domain until long after they are fucking dead? My house, everything in it, my savings will go to my son. 70 years after I have gone in quest of the "is there a God" final answer, do you think I will give a shit what he does with his inheritance? It's beyond insane that my grandchildren will be in their 50's before much of the music I listened to as a teenager will be public domain. I'm 65, so if I live another 12 years, Buddy Holly MAY be public domain. That's because I was 5 when his plane went down.

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