2020
- Make you worry about something you weren’t worried about yesterday.
- Sell you a product to try and counteract that worry they created for you.
- Try to distract you with technology that seems from the future.
- Give lip service to privacy concerns.
- Create a large volume of data to sell you more things.
Government Websites Should be Surveillance Free
Excuse me while I vent for a moment. Today I tried to visit the State of Minnesota COVID-19 resource page. I wanted to see what the State of Minnesota had shared recently. However, when I visited the page it was blank. Just a white page.
I run multiple layers of software to block surveillance software on the web. It amazes me that this software blocks about 30% of all requests that my browser attempts to make, and by and large websites I visit are unaffected. Just think about that for a second. 30% of all web activity that my browser goes to offers no value to me, but is instead surveilling me for various other activities.
Back to the State of Minnesota though, unfortunately their site breaks entirely if you block this surveillance. I tested it and if I paused blocking it worked, enabled blocking and it was a blank white screen again.
This burns me up because this is my government resource that I want to access, and I do not think that my government should force me to be surveilled by private companies in order to access resources I want as a citizen of my state. I feel the same way when government services are only available via social networks. There should be no circumstance where I should have to submit to surveillance in order to get access to government information.
So, what is all this amazing stuff that the State of Minnesota wants to watch me with? Let’s take a look.
First, we have Google Tag Manager which is Google’s bundled thing to put nearly anything into a website. Google is all over the web and follows us nearly everywhere I go. I especially dislike the idea of Google seeing what resources I’m looking at from government services. That could lead to some terrible profiling activities. Plus, Google has nothing to do with Minnesota and I don’t see why I need to send my data to a company in California to get information from Minnesota.
Registrant Organization: Google LLC Registrant State/Province: CA Registrant Country: US
Next we have SiteImprove! Now we aren’t just getting another state involved but an entire separate country. It turns out that a company in Denmark is also needed to get me my COVID-19 information from Minnesota.
Registrant Organization: Siteimprove AS Registrant State/Province: Registrant Country: DK
Okay, deep breaths. Now we add cdn.perfdrive.com, which I’ve never heard of. They don’t seem to have an easily available website. Their domain registration is hidden behind a legal proxy, so I have no means to identify who this company is that is getting my data.
Then we have something called btstatic.com. The domain’s whois information shows some entity in Chicago, IL but then an administrative contact in the United Kingdom. With Denmark already in the mix we have a full global action here for me to talk to my State Government.
Registrant Organisation: Signal Digital, Inc. Registrant Street: 222 N. LaSalle St. Registrant Street: Suite 1600 Registrant City: Chicago Registrant State/Province: IL Registrant Postal Code: 60601 Registrant Country: US Admin Organisation: Safenames Ltd Admin Street: Safenames House, Sunrise Parkway Admin Street: Linford Wood Admin City: Milton Keynes Admin State/Province: Bucks Admin Postal Code: MK14 6LS Admin Country: UK
Rounding out the fun we also have two additional California companies that are getting my data too. Apparently we are optimizing via optimizely.com and amplifying via amplitude.com! Ugh.
Registrant Organization: Optimizely Registrant State/Province: California Registrant Country: US Admin Organization: Amplitude Admin State/Province: CA Admin Country: US
So to recap, in order for me to get COVID-19 information from the State of Minnesota I need to give my data to three companies in California, one in Denmark, one in Chicago or the UK, and a final one that I have no legal way of identifying.
It should be a requirement that government resources on the web are available without surveillance. Citizens should not be forced to send there data all over the globe to get something that is essential to the services expected.
Brandi Carlile’s Campfire Singalong
Streaming Brandi Carlile’s Campfire Singalong. Love the intimate feel, like joining them for a jam session around the fire. 🔥 It’s great to get some live music; warms the heart. 🎶
“The Twins” playing Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel is amazing. Sounds great.
The acoustic cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” amazing as well. We need a Brandi Carlile cover album!
I could listen to Brandi and the Twins singing “The Eye” over and over, and never get tired of it.
Brandi is intent on going on and on, but we are calling it a night after “The Mother”, two hours in. Will have to see tomorrow how long it actually does go!
Happy Birthday to my amazing, awesome, and astounding Mom! 🎉 I would literally be nothing without her. I have been so lucky to have someone to guide, teach, and help me throughout my life. 💚
Dancing Bear Chocolate
First time visit to Dancing Bear Chocolate to get treats for my Mom’s birthday. They also made a custom Carrot Cake for her that was delicious and super filling!
Cocktail Emoji Triples
I was texting recently and wanted to reference an Old Fashioned and it dawned on me that there was a perfect emoji reference for that drink!
Old Fashioned
🥃🍊🍒
It captures the bourbon, and then the two dominate flavors of orange and cherry.
Could Emoji Triples be used to describe any cocktail? So I took a run at some.
Gin & Tonic
🍹🍋🏖
Nice drink. Lemons, and something you might drink on a beach.
Mojito
🍹🥥🍍
This is definitely an umbrella drink. Coconut implies sweetness. Pineapple?
Moscow Mule
🥃🐴🇷🇺
This one seemed harder. Copper mug? Cocktail tumbler. Mule? Bring on a horse. Moscow? Let’s use a Russian flag.
Voted! ✅
I prefer voting by mail. We get the kids involved. We can do research on the smaller down ballot elections and make more informed decisions. It is much more relaxing and allows the electorate to be more informed. I will be delivering the package by hand to the city office.
It took 6 months for COVID-19 to go from the March lockdowns to the White House. COVID-19 is still less than one year old!
Trump Tests Positive for the Coronavirus
Related, from two days ago, Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump.
Hit a new 30-min PR and passed 400 kJ of output in Irène Sholz EDM Ride. 402 kJ, +8 over previous PR. 48% of ride at or above VO2 Max range. Was completely gassed by the end. #FitByFifty
Had a great evening with a couple of friends sitting around the fire, drinking an Old Fashioned or three, and having good laughs. 🥃🔥
I enjoy Dense Discovery and the variety of topics that Kai brings to the newsletter. It was an easy decision to sign up for the new Friend of DD program announced in issue 107.
Finished a much needed organizing and upgrading of my home office setup. This is working much better on every dimension.
Amazon’s marketing strategy with Ring seems to be:
Delicious plate of tomatoes grown by our old neighbor. 🍅
Enjoying this home brew Belgian Witbier with Coriander and Orange Peel that my friend Garrick gave to me. Refreshing. Tastes like summer. 🍺
Hit a new 60-min PR in Matt Wilpers Power Zone Endurance Ride this morning! 653 kJ, a 10% jump over previous 591 kJ. It was a Zone 2 / 3 ride but I felt my zones were a little low so I rode more Zone 3 / 4. Should do a new FTP test. 🙌🚴🏼♂️🏆
Mazie cross country meet today In Chanhassen. Running 5k. 👏
Sous Vides Brisket
Trying Sous Vides brisket for the first time. Trimmed down the flat. Simple salt and pepper. Texas style. Cut in half to vacuum seal for the bath. In the 155 °F water bath for 36 hours. Will finish on Big Green Egg for 3-4 hours for smoke and bark on Saturday.
24 hours into the Sous Vides and all proceeding well!
37 hours of Sous Vides complete. Pulled the brisket out and leaving it in bags to cool in the fridge. Will smoke for 3-4 hours to finish this afternoon. 🤤
After a few hours cooking in the refrigerator I pulled the brisket out of the bags. I put the juice aside to use for something else. Second application of salt and pepper rub, and onto the Big Green Egg to smoke for three or so hours.
Tyler defeated Monk Maz Koshia and got the Master Cycle Zero in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is amazing to me how far the story goes in this game.
