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This, to me, is the bigger question. If there's life out there, is it similar to life here, and if not, how different? It's hard to imagine that we're the only life in the universe, just looking at the numbers and the fact that we're made of the most common elements in the universe. It's hard...

First one is easy. We were in a race with the Soviets back then. Money was no object. They mostly used existing (if very new) technology and invented solutions to the immediate problems. I have no problem believing there are people who are a lot smarter than I. Why are we going back now? Beside...

Maybe, but one thing we can be sure of is that if the government did know anything, someone would leak it.

Very true. And it's also true those who can justify that decision are in the minority. I do see some who aren't in a position to BTD take that attitude, thinking they "deserve" it. Kinda sad. And, yes, maybe I do act somewhat on principle. I have been through difficult times financially, and I...

Yes. That's why it's frustrating to see and hear so many people say they pay no attention to prices, haven't changed their purchasing habits due to inflation, and generally take a "money is no object" attitude. We vote with our wallets. Just because I can afford something, doesn't mean I'm...

I'm calling BS on this. I don't often shop at Target, but I'm going out on a limb and saying they're going to do what all the other retailers do. That is, after jacking up prices as high as they dared during the inflation spike, they've discovered that they may have overshot in a some cases. I...

I hesitate to mention it here, but I've found I can enjoy the mass-market cruises simply by being a contrarian. When it's sunny, everyone is crammed into the lounge chairs and pool area. I don't enjoy sunbathing and have most of the cool, interior spaces to myself. At night when everyone is in...

I use KeePass. It's free and open source. I control where I store the (encrypted) database containing my passwords. It's easy enough to keep them synch'd among multiple devices, since I do that with a lot of other data, too. Admittedly, this method is a lot more hands-on than just letting...

The other thing you can do with GMail is put a dot anywhere in the account. So, your JohnDoe @ gmail account will get mail sent to John.Doe or even joh.ndoe.

There are so many free e-mail options. I'm not sure why anyone would offer a "service" like this, since you can do it yourself a thousand different ways. I often set up a new "throw-away" account for a specific purpose. For example, when I was looking at real estate a lot of the web sites...

It should be no surprise that a company which treats its customers and employees well is a success. We've been brainwashed by the MBAs and investment bankers to believe that corporations only exist to enrich investors, and that the path to success is to reduce quality and employee benefits.

I'm a bit leery of cloud-based password managers, too. Seems like a "single point of failure" situation to me. And a tempting target for any would-be hackers. Still, you have to give Bitwarden credit on this one. It's good that they have procedures in place to catch brute-force password...

Back on that light pollution theme, it was nice to be able to find a dark spot in the yard last night to enjoy the aurora. I do have to talk to one neighbor about a flood light he has on his driveway, but I'm pretty sure we can come to some agreement. To those who might be thinking about moving...

Relying on "something I have" instead of "something I know" is good in theory. But as someone who's known to lose things, and, especially, have them fall overboard, I find the implementation problematic. A good example (of a poor practice) is the way a lot of web sites have implemented...

...And those of us who don't live in a city would thank you to not come here and do the same. But, if you do come here to live (and who could blame you!) please don't try to make our town into the city you left behind. We don't need streets and yards lit up like Times Square. We have these...

I always get a kick out of these questions. Just like the click-bait articles listing the "best cities" for whatever. I don't live in a city. I hope I never have to live in a city. Living in a city is not "desirable" to me. Oh, I like to visit, and I could find a way to get by in some of the...

Be careful with that. All it means is that somewhere in the world, amid the millions of compromised accounts, one of them happened to use that password. It doesn't mean anyone knows that password is somehow associated with your account at some specific institution.

I could argue that we are already doing a lot of pretty stupid things. We used to say people would "avoid it like the plague." Then we had a plague. A lot of people not only didn't avoid it, but denied it. Of course nuclear weapons come to mind, as does the global trend toward nationalism and...

I don't see it that way at all. And I also spent a lot of time doing IT Security. When I think "data breach" I think of a corporate database being hacked, not some phishing situation where the end user (customer) inadvertently gives away access to their own account. If the phishing attack is...

People don't seem to realize that the ancient Aztec, Inca, Egyptians, etc. were actually "modern humans." They had the same intellectual ability we do. They were resourceful and came up with solutions we wouldn't think of today. Yeah, some of their knowledge and skills were lost. Humans seem to...

I think the only safe thing is to assume all your personal data is available on the dark web, for a price, and act accordingly. A good bit of it is already available on the "regular" web. I find it especially humorous when the health care companies act so secretive and secure with your personal...

Starliner Crew Flight has been scrubbed.

That's easy. Just use those three little words that men find so hard say: "I don't know."

I agree they're not the source of the problem, but I'll double down on my choice of the word "nasty." Yes, the problem is the system. I suppose we're all to blame at some level, but there's very little an individual can do but play the hand we're dealt, and vote. Apparently the majority of "us"...