Uncrowned Guard

35

32

I'm very much ready to get out and get the garden started! I never got into St. Patrick's day as far as celebrating or anything along those lines.

I do worry about the environment and I actually believe humans are in a race to leave Earth before we kill ourselves on it, and we are losing that race hysterically bad. On a day-to-day note, I do try to support environmental improvements and protections, but I don't support much the government does as they are often a swing and a miss or completely avoid the entire problem. While that may sound bad, I actually stay out of the discussions much and really don't care what most people do themselves. However, I do get involved as the world is flooded with companies that keep pushing "green" and "net zero climate change", but are doing super shady stuff like protecting an area of wilderness that no one wants to process to justify their pollution.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), one of the most prominent financial institutions for tech startups and investors, was shut down by regulators on Friday, March 10, 2023, over concerns about its solvency. The bank struggled with liquidity issues and mounting losses from its exposure to crypto lending and other risky ventures. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it had taken over SVB as the receiver and would sell its assets and liabilities to another bank. The FDIC said that SVB's depositors would have access to their insured deposits of up to $250,000 per account. However, some depositors may face losses if they have funds in money market mutual funds or other uninsured products. The collapse of SVB sent shockwaves through the tech industry, as many startups and venture capitalists relied on its services and expertise. SVB had been a pioneer in providing banking solutions for tech companies since 1983, offering loans, credit cards, treasury management, foreign exchange, and other products. It had more than 40 offices worldwide and served more than 30,000 clients. The cause of SVB's downfall was a combination of factors, including a sudden bank run triggered by rumors of its insolvency; a sharp decline in the value of its crypto assets amid regulatory crackdowns and market volatility; a surge in loan defaults and fraud cases from some of its borrowers; and an inability to raise capital from investors or sell some of its assets. The FDIC said that it would work with other regulators and stakeholders to ensure an orderly resolution of SVB's affairs. It also said that it would investigate the circumstances leading to SVB's failure and hold accountable any parties responsible for misconduct or negligence. The collapse of SVB marks the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. It also raises questions about the stability and regulation of the banking sector in an era of rapid technological innovation and disruption. View full article

28

Ford has recently filed a patent application that reveals a new way of repossessing cars if their owners fail to keep up with their payments. This bizarre and alarming solution involves the vehicle locking out its driver and even repossessing itself. The patent application was filed in August 2021, but it was only made public last week, first reported by The Drive. The automaker believes this system will help solve the problem of "uncooperative" owners who resist repossession efforts. The system would use a "repossession system computer" to facilitate the process. It would begin with minor discomfort to the driver, with features such as cruise control, GPS, air conditioning, and the radio disabled. The car may also emit an "incessant and unpleasant sound" to warn the driver. If the driver still doesn't respond, the system may lock the driver out of the car. The lockout would only take place during certain times, such as weekends, to ensure that the driver can still use the car to earn money to make payments. The car may also be limited to certain geographic areas or even certain times of the day. If the driver is still behind on payments, the car could take drastic action. It may autonomously drive itself to a location convenient for a tow truck to tow it away, or it could drive itself to a repossession agency, lending institution, or impound lot. In some cases, the car may even drive itself to a scrapyard if its market value is lower than the cost of repossession. While the patent application provides insight into Ford's potential plans for repossessing cars in the future, it's not clear if the automaker will actually implement this system. In any case, this news raises important questions about privacy, autonomy, and the future of car ownership. It's important for car owners to stay vigilant and stay up to date on how automakers are using technology to track and control their vehicles. View full article

Welcome and glad to see you here @Kale!

Doughnuts Coffee or Tea?

26

23

March is almost here for sure! We have been getting nice weather and it has been pushing me to get the garden stuff ready! Any else prepping for spring?

We have gotten a very small amount of snow all winter so far. The next storm as already been changed to rain, so not looking like we will get much of a total.

I try to have an overall plan that at least offers some pathways I can follow along the way. But detailed, not really.

Doing well! Off to an early start, how about yourself?

I believe the concept is solid and should be done, but the real world implementation has been terrible. Our area used to require both, but we dropped emissions as they found out that no one was testing it correctly. The overall inspection is shady at best and simply a corrupt system at worst in this area. Thankfully it is only around $50 to get a yearly inspection here, but it completely depends on where you go if an actual inspection preformed.

I feel like it is a lose-lose. As I don't fully understand how the first 30 seconds of a video really affect anything family friendly. If anything, it would let a parent watch a few seconds and be fooled into thinking the video is profanity free. It sounds like it is aimed at ensuring advertisements are not followed directly by a profanity. The end goal is to likely ensure that the intro ad is not followed by profanities or hate speech and then use AI to place the mid roll at a point that it is also safe. I do wonder if there will be a follow-up a about profanity at the end of a video as well. Granted most popular videos have an end card, but not all.

Ice is truly the worst! I can deal with tons of snow, but layers of ice is just terrible to work with.

Google Fi, a cell service provider, has notified its customers that their personal data may have been stolen in a recent cyberattack. The incident is believed to be related to a recent T-Mobile data breach that impacted 37 million customers. In an email sent to Google Fi customers, the company said that its primary network provider had become aware of suspicious activity in a system containing Google Fi customer data. Although the company did not explicitly name T-Mobile as its primary service provider, the timing of the announcement and the relationship between Google Fi and T-Mobile suggest that this breach is directly linked to the T-Mobile hack. According to the email, hackers may have accessed limited customer information, including phone numbers, SIM card serial numbers, account status, and mobile service plan data. The system did not contain personal information such as names, email addresses, payment card data, government IDs, passwords, or pin numbers. Google reassured customers that no further action is required by Fi users and that there was no unauthorized access to Google’s own systems or any systems overseen directly by the company. Google has not disclosed how many Google Fi customers may have been impacted by the breach, and the company has yet to provide any information regarding the number of users who subscribe to the Google Fi service. The recent T-Mobile breach marks the eighth time that the company has suffered a cyber attack since 2018, and the impact of the Google Fi breach remains unknown. However, the company has assured its customers that it is taking steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. View full article

19

I would normally rate Hulu above Netflix for a lot of TV shows, at least that is how it was years ago when I had both. Today I rarely even hear about anything on Hulu, so that may have changed.

I have always had a 4x4 truck and will likely stick with it. As a family we go with a 4x4 and something better on gas for our two vehicles as snow can be a bit of a problem here.